The Journey Begins
by Vicarious
Summary: I'm finally back! Chapter 26 up. Luke and Lorelai begin to realize what everyone else knows.
1. Pringles

Title: The Journey Begins

  
  


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Probably not even all of the story, but it did all come out of my head and I own that.

  
  


Author's Note: This is my first ever fanfic. Actually my first story ever. I am not a writer and have never even wanted to be a writer, but I love the show and have a lot of time. I want lots of reviews because I have never written anything and I want to know how to make it better. Go through line by line and tell me what to fix or just say it sucks. I think fanfiction should be written for the fans so tell me exactly what you think. I promise to consider each review long and hard. 

  
  


About the Story: It will be Luke/ Lorelai... eventually. I have lots of stuff in my head and I want to get then together slowly, naturally. But not too slowly and they will get together. I probably won't write much Rory romance in this story because, frankly, I am way more JavaJunkie than anything else. 

  
  


Ok, On with the Story.

  
  
  
  
  
  


All but a few lights in Luke's diner were out. The tables were wiped, the floor swept. The man himself, stood behind the counter performing his nightly ritual of counting receipts. He had done this every day since he opened the diner. It was a routine. He liked routine. It kept things normal, the same. He didn't do well with change. 

However, this routine also included something that he hated. Thinking about Lorelai. As much as he tried, he could never keep his thoughts from her for very long. Tonight she was out. Probably on a date. Probably with Jason. He hadn't heard much about the man she had been seeing lately, except in passing and what he could get out of Sookie without seeming as though he cared. He honestly didn't understand what Lorelai saw in him. 

Luke had never liked any of her past boyfriends but this guy was different. He understood the other guys. Christopher was Lorelai's first love and Rory's father. There would always be a connection. Max had been sophisticated and smart, able to keep up with Lorelai's wit, but Luke suspected it was more of a physical attraction and little else. There had been a few others between Max and the most recent, but Luke never got the impression that any of them were serious. 

He couldn't say the same about this one. Lorelai smiled a lot more lately. She went out a lot more. He still didn't get it. The man worked with her father, so Luke knew Jason was from a world that Lorelai had spent most of her life trying to get away from. Though Lorelai hadn't elaborated, much to Luke's relief, he had heard a few stories from Lorelai. Jason had funny sleeping habits, taught his dog weird tricks, and was fond of calling Lorelai "Umlauts" to agitate her. You couldn't sneeze in Star's Hollow without everyone knowing two minutes later and Luke got the impression that the general consensus was that Jason was a cheeseball. He was used to getting what he wanted, when he wanted it, and now that included Lorelai. What could Lorelai have liked about him, other than the idea of doing something that would mean defying her parents?

"Dammit!" 

Luke slammed the cash drawer closed and realized that he had cursed aloud. He closed his eyes and scolded himself for getting worked up. Lorelai could do what she wanted. Besides he had Nicole.

The bell above the door jingled. Luke didn't open his eyes. He knew who it was. Somehow the ring of the bell sounded different when she walked through the door. He didn't hear the normal racket she made when entering. Teasing him and demanding coffee, the woman was seldom silent. All he heard was the click of her heels as she wove through tables and sat down on a stool at the counter. He opened his eyes expecting her to be looking at him strangely, but she hadn't even noticed. She sat with her hands on the counter, staring at them. He immediately turned around and flipped the switch on the coffee maker. He turned back around and looked at her. She didn't seem to notice at all. He took her in. She looked extra beautiful tonight. Dressed up in what he knew was one of her "date dresses." Luke saw her every day. He could name every article of clothing she owned, save for her underwear. Luke's eyes widened as he had this thought. Here she was obviously upset about something and he was imagining her underwear! The coffee was ready, so he poured her a steaming cup and set it in front of her. She still took no notice, so he lifted the cup and raised it to his lips. 

"Luke! What are you doing? Have you lost your mind? That's COFFEE! Coffee is bad, remember?"

Luke set the cup down, relieved that she was finally roused from her stupor. 

"I had to do something to wake you up."

Lorelai looked momentarily embarrassed by her daze. 

"You had to give me a heart attack?"

Luke cocked his head and gave her a withering look.

"Me drinking coffee would have really given you a heart attack?"

"Yes because.....because it would mean that the world would have been reversed and I would have to become a health nut."

Luke smiled slightly. Her normal charm and wit seemed off tonight, but he was glad that she still had her coffee and junk food priorities straight.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked looking at her seriously.. 

Lorelai felt uneasy under his stare. She looked at her cup and replied "Nothing. Everything's fine."

"Oh, ok, well if everything's fine than you won't need this coffee." Luke knew that Lorelai could have murdered Taylor Doose and still would've confessed for a cup of coffee. Lorelai looked up at him. Luke was staring hard at her. She felt as if she was naked. He could see through to her heart and could tell it was carrying 20 extra pounds tonight. She sighed, defeated. 

"Jason and I broke up", she said in a voice so tiny it was barely audible.

Luke place the cup in front of her again and she took a long sip. She stared down into it. Luke was dying to know what happened but he was too scared to ask. He didn't have to because Lorelai continued.

"We went to dinner. Tonight. I overheard him. On the payphone. Talking to his father. About my father." Her sentences were short and fragmented as though she was still trying to comprehend what had happened. Luke looked at her expectantly.

"He still works for his father. But he works for my father too." As she said this her forehead creased in confusion. Tears welled up in her eyes and she spoke as though she was hearing it all for the first time and didn't understand.

"He's been giving information to his father about my dad's business. Why would he do that? He's my dad's competition."

"I don't know, Lorelai"

Lorelai knew. Luke knew she knew, but he had a feeling she didn't want to believe it. Her tears were coming quicker now. Luke hated to see her cry but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. 

She stood up quickly, her face was red with anger. She began to pace the diner. He could almost see the gears in her head turning so he tried to calm her down.

"Lorelai, I'm sorry about Jason. He didn't deserve you," Luke said in a soft voice while staring hard at his shoes. Lorelai stopped and whipped around. Uh oh thought Luke. I said the wrong thing again.

"To hell with Jason!" Lorelai spat. "What am I going to do? How can I possibly tell my dad?"

Luke was taken aback. Luke knew that things between Lorelai and her parents were never smooth. He also knew that they genuinely cared about each other a great deal, but he had never seen it so blatantly displayed. 

Lorelai, however, didn't notice Luke's shock and began to babble.

"He is so happy. That jerk. And the Pringles. How could I have fallen for the Pringles? And the tv that came out of the bed. And that poor dog. What an idiot. Should've known after Atlantic city. And the underwear-less anorexic. So stupid..."

Luke, who became lost after the mention of Pringles, came around the counter and caught her by the shoulders. 

"Lorelai," he said softly, "Calm down, you aren't making any sense."

"Oh, I'll show you sense making," she said in a threatening tone, even though she wasn't looking at Luke, but off into space as though she was speaking to someone else.

"Lorelai!" Luke said a little more forcefully. She looked at him as though he had just appeared in front of her.

"What? Oh, sorry. I'm just..."

"I know" he said, his voice softening. "You need to get some rest. You will be able to make better sense of it, and at all, in the morning."

Lorelai looked at him for a second before leaning forward into his arms and crushing herself against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist and breathed deeply. Even in her distraught state, she couldn't help but notice how good he smelled. 

Luke froze when Lorelai hugged him. He only remembered a few times in the past when they had hugged and he didn't know what to do anymore now than he had then. But he couldn't stand to see her upset and wrapped his arms around her back. She held him tight so he held her back just as tightly with one arm as he rubbed her back with the other. He placed his chin on the top of her head and wondered at how their bodies fit together so perfectly. He breathed in the smell of her hair and closed his eyes. The diner was dead silent, but it seemed strangely comfortable. The silence was broken by Lorelai. 

"Luke?" she asked again using a tiny voice. 

"Yeah?" 

"Will you help me? Make sense of it?"

Luke, reluctant to let go, stopped rubbing her back and replied "Sure". 

"Thanks" she said with her head still against his chest. She gave him one last squeeze and pulled back. 

"I should go, I'm exhausted" she said with a heavy sigh. "Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow" he said and she began to towards the door. 

When she reached for the knob, Luke said "Hey, Lorelai?" 

"Yeah?" She turned around. 

Luke produced a to-go cup and filled it with coffee. 

"To help you sleep" he said walking around the corner and handing it to her. She smiled, the first time all night. 

"Thanks, again. Goodnight"

"Goodnight Lorelai"

He watched her as she walked down the street and disappeared in the darkness. He locked the door and let out a breath as though he had been holding it since she had walked in. He turned off the lights and headed upstairs to his apartment. Until tomorrow...... 


	2. Tomorrow

Author's Note: See Title and Disclaimer in Chapter 1. Thanks so much for the reviews. I didn't get as many as I hoped but I got more than I expected so all is good. I am going to try and update every day, but that may be a little ambitious because I want to work hard and get the characters right. Please continue to review with any comments, good, bad or neutral. I really appreciate all comments. 

About the story: In case anyone was confused, "Until tomorrow . . . " meant that, that is when Luke would help Lorelai make sense of things. I reread it and though it made sense in my head, I wrote it so obviously I got it. Just wanted to clear that up. Sorry if this chapter is a little lackluster. I wanted to set the stage for Luke's relationship with Nicole. Have to let things percolate a bit. I promise all Luke and Lorelai next chapter. Also, if anyone has any suggestions, I would really love to get a handle on Nicole. Most people write her as a sort of one-dimensional witch and even though I don't like her, I want to flesh her out a little bit. Thanks so much. 

On with the story . . . 

Chapter 2: Tomorrow

Luke walked down the stairs and flipped the sign on the door to 'OPEN'. He raised the blinds on the windows letting the early morning sunlight flow in. He walked back behind the counter and was surprised to hear the door open. He turned to see Lorelai walking in apprehensively.

"Hi" he said, confused as to what she was doing here so early. 

"Hi Luke. I couldn't sleep all night and I think I know what the problem is," She said in one long breath.

"What's that?" he asked, concern showing on his face.

"I need to tell you something." But she didn't continue.

"Yes?" Luke pressed.

"Well, Luke, I . . . RING!!!! RING!!!!!"

Luke jumped back as a very loud noise, sounding like a telephone, escaped Lorelai's lips. 

Luke rolled over with a groan and swiped at the telephone on his night stand. He had been having the same dream for a while now, but he never got to find out what Lorelai needed to tell him. He rarely dreamed, but this one nagged at him. If only she could speak quicker. Occasionally, like today, she rang. Many times she beeped, and for a while she consistently spoke in Jess's voice. Luke shook his head, as if to clear it of his dream, and picked up the receiver of the phone.

"Hello?" Luke said in a groggy and gravelly voice.

"Well, Good morning Sunshine" came the reply.

"Nicole, hi. What time is it?", he asked rubbing his eyes trying to make out the clock in the dark.

"It's five a.m.. I wanted to catch you before you went downstairs."

"Oh, well you caught me" he said trying not to sound annoyed. What reason did he have to be annoyed with her? "Um what's up?"

"I was calling to see if you were free for dinner tonight?"

"Oh, um sure. Not too late though, Lane has class tomorrow, so we'll be short-handed, and Monday mornings are the busiest of the week." Luke spoke in the tone he always used when he wanted to make it short. His voice would get lower as he spoke without taking a breath.

"Oh, sure." Nicole said, failing to hide her disappointment. "Should I come there?"

"No" Luke said a little too quickly. Why didn't he want her to come? "I'll come there. We'll go out for a nice dinner."

"Oh, all right." Her voice perked up quickly.

"See you at . . . seven?" he offered.

"Yep, seven. See you then."

"Goodbye Nicole."

Luke hung the phone up with a sigh. He found himself doing that a lot lately. Things weren't really bad between him and Nicole, but they weren't particularly good either. They were just neutral. They got along and had a good time, and though she technically was his wife, Luke didn't feel the way about her that he thought he should. Things were simple, plain, routine even. He kept telling himself things were just still weird after the "divorce/ not divorce" fiasco. He just needed to take some time and get back into the relationship. Nicole seemed to be okay with things. She didn't visit Stars Hollow as often because Luke chose to come to her when he could, and she seemed happier with that arrangement. Luke almost never told her stories about the town's residents and the "out-of-sight out-of-mind" theory seemed to hold true. At least for the one resident that always caused a rift between him and Nicole, it did. Luke knew that if he just left Lorelai out of all of his stories Nicole would know, so he figured if he didn't tell many stories at all, she wouldn't notice as much. Though, that didn't really leave Luke with much to talk about. Nicole didn't seem to mind. She had lots of stories to tell anyway. Luke didn't mind listening to her talk for hours. At least it wasn't a whole bunch of drama.

Luke showered, dressed, and ate breakfast, all the while wondering how he was going to help Lorelai figure out what to do about her father. He had only met her father briefly at one of Rory's birthday parties and again at her graduation, but he got the impression that Richard Gilmore was a good man. He knew Lorelai's relationship with her mother was strained at best, but he didn't know how well she got along with her father. He knew Lorelai had to tell Richard but Luke hadn't the slightest idea how. He told himself Lorelai would probably figure it out all on her own, as she usually did, and he would just be along for the ride.

He walked downstairs and flipped the sign on the door to 'OPEN' and opened the blinds feeling a sense of deja vu. He walked behind the counter and waited. Nothing. As he turned around to flip on the coffee pot, the bell above the door jingled. He turned around quickly and watched as a young man in a tie walked in. Damn.

More people soon followed, hoping to get breakfast before church. The diner was busy but remarkably quiet. Folks weren't really awake before church. 

The crowd died down for an hour and another rush hit after church got out. This was his least favorite time of the week. Families with tiny, sticky children and crying babies took up almost all of his tables. The rest were taken by a few old couples and even the counter was almost full of the few that came in by themselves. He tried not to look disgusted and told himself being busy was good. It meant money. 

He watched as a woman sitting at a corner table, played with her baby. While she wasn't watching, her preschool age son ran a car along the ground. He ran it into the foot of a woman at the next table, who yelped loudly. This caused her male companion to jump and spill his hot coffee in the lap of another man. Luke practically flew around the counter, running to stop the chain of events. He would be very glad to see them all go.

Finally, the crowd quieted. Families slowly filed out and eventually only a few strays were left. The entire time, Luke had been watching for Lorelai. Even on sundays, she managed to get up for lunch at Luke's. She never missed it. He was sure she had said they would talk today. He wondered what had kept her from coming in. The only times she had stayed away were when they were fighting or when Luke had made the slightest attempt at a move on her. When they had the infamous "Jess Fight" they hadn't talked for weeks. Once, he had only thought of kissing her, and she ran. However, she quickly needed his help out of a problem only Lorelai Gilmore could get herself into, and things were good again, with the exceptions of a lemon lamp and an adventuresome chick. Had she thought he was making a move again? He really did want to help. 

He packed a burger with fries and a coffee to go, told Caesar to watch the place and headed out the door. He wanted to be there for her before she changed her mind.


	3. Little Girl

Author's Note: See title and disclaimer in Chapter 1. Sorry, this update took longer than expected. This chapter has been the hardest one to write yet. Granted, it's only the third one ever, but the first two came so easily. I watched "Run Away Little Boy" (The one with Romeo and Juliet) last night for inspiration but the end just depressed me. Lorelai and Luke are so cute! So I am dedicating this chapter to that. Also, Thank you so much for the reviews. You have no idea how great they are. They really keep me going. Keep them up. I am going to try really hard to have the next chapter up tomorrow night, but tomorrow is my birthday and the next chapter will be Luke's dinner with Nicole and I am having trouble with her, so it might take an extra day. Thanks for all the support. 

On with the story....

Chapter 3: Little Girl

Luke walked slowly up the steps to Lorelai's porch. He hid the bag of food behind his back and knocked loudly in case she was still asleep. Star's Hollow was very quiet for a Sunday afternoon. So quiet, in fact, that Luke could actually hear Lorelai's stairs creak as she descended. The door swung open slowly and Lorelai looked at him bleary-eyed. She looked as if she had just woken up. She wore plain black pants and a tank top, which was different from every other time Luke had seen her in pajamas. The few times Luke had been over late fixing something or early and woken her up, she always worn pants with food or cartoons on them, or a sparkly shirt, or had words running across her butt. Today she looked adult. Which wasn't Lorelai. She looked tired.

"Were you still sleeping? It's one in the afternoon," he said sternly.

"I couldn't get to sleep last night." she said, shrugging her shoulders and looking down. Luke produced the bag of food from behind his back. Lorelai's face lit up a bit. She held the screen door open and he walked inside. "I thought I smelled coffee, but then I just thought I was still dreaming." she said sounding relieved. Luke cocked his head at her.

"What are you talking about? There's no coffee in here. There is only your chicken salad."

"Ha!" Lorelai exclaimed. "You had me going there until the chicken salad. Give me that, evil man." She snatched the bag away from him. She gave a small smile when she opened it and saw the burger and fries, and a relieved sigh when she spied the coffee. She sat down on the couch and began eating away. Luke just stood staring. As many times as he had seen it before, he still couldn't get over how she could eat like that. It amazed him. Lorelai noticed.

"Are you gonna sit down or do your legs not bend that way before closing time?"

"Closing time?" he asked.

"Closing time for the diner." She waited for a reaction. "You know, because you stand all day." Still nothing. "Shut up, it was funny." She grumbled. Luke rolled his eyes and sat down. Lorelai went back to eating. "So, to what do I owe the honor of the personal delivery of food I didn't order?" she asked between bites.

"Well... I mean after last night... I thought you wanted to..." Luke trailed off, not sure how to continue. Lorelai looked confused for a minute before she remembered asking for his help. Luke could practically see the light bulb go off in her head.

"Oh! We were gonna figure out what to do about my dad." she said.

"Yeah, you said today, and you weren't there for your usual noon breakfast, so I thought I would come to you." Luke finished quickly, as if he was trying to skip over the fact that he was being sweet. Lorelai didn't miss it, however.

"Luke! That is really nice. That means a lot to me." She smiled at him.

"Yeah." Luke said caught up in her smile. He smiled back. Here it is again he thought. Another one of those moments where they didn't say anything. Just smiled at each other and got caught up in the emotion of the moment. As usual it didn't last long. Lorelai finished her burger and smiled at him again. "So...." Luke prompted. Lorelai raised her eyebrows. 

"So what? You said you were going to help. So help. Just don't break any lamps this time because I really like the one with the monkeys." Luke ignored her.

"Lorelai, you have to tell him." he said in a firm but soft voice.

"Why?"

"Lorelai" His voice got firmer.

"I know" she sighed. "But how? How do I tell my dad that someone pulled the wool over his eyes? He has never fallen for someone's scam. How can I tell him that the people he has worked with for years, first phased him out of his job, then worked to destroy his business, just when he was happy again?" She finished, her voice getting shaky. 

Luke was surprised at the show of emotion for her father. He knew they loved each other, obviously. And he saw how upset she got when he had a heart attack, but he didn't think they were very close. He wasn't sure what the answer was, so he decided to focus on something more certain.

"Has his business actually been destroyed?" he asked.

"What?" Lorelai was confused again.

"Has his business been destroyed yet? I mean, has Jason ruined anything yet?"

"I don't know"

"You see him every week. Wouldn't he say something if business was going badly?" Luke asked. Lorelai thought for a moment.

"No, he probably wouldn't say anything, but he would be in a bad mood. And if he was in a bad mood my mother wouldn't not say anything. So I guess that means nothing has happened yet." Lorelai said, more than a little relieved.

"Well," Luke said, "It's a good thing that you can tell him before anything does happen."

"Yeah, I guess. But I still don't know how."

"There won't be a good way. You'll just have to say it." Luke said apologetically. Lorelai let out a large sigh.

"I feel like I am 14 years old again. He's going to be mad." Luke saw in her eyes, how much she really did care what her parents thought even though she buried it away.

"He won't be mad at you." Luke assured her. "Jason fooled you too. You're just as much a victim as Richard is. He'll see that."

"No, he won't." Lorelai said quietly.

"Why not?" It was Luke's turn to be confused.

"Well...." Lorelai hesitated. "I didn't tell them that he and I were seeing each other."

"Why not?" Lorelai hesitated again. Longer this time. Luke leaned forward, pressing her for an answer. Lorelai knew her excuses wouldn't work on Rory or Sookie. They might actually work on Luke, but for some reason she didn't want to lie to him.

"I just..." She took a breath. "I was afraid they would think I wasn't good enough for him." Tears formed in her eyes. To Luke, Lorelai looked like a little girl afraid of disappointing her parents, and it broke his heart. 

"Why would you think that?" he asked, trying to remain calm.

"They always wanted me to be a part of that world and I just disappointed them. He, however, is very much a part of it." she said.

"You're part of every world." he said soothingly. His eyes widened when he realized how it sounded. "I mean, you have that natural ability to fit in everywhere." he added quickly.

"Lucas! That didn't quite make sense, but I do believe that was a compliment." she said with a grin forming on her face.

"You know I didn't mean it that way." he grumbled.

"You think the world of me" she said in an awed voice. Luke grunted in disgust. "I am the queen of every world, and my first decree is a lifetime of free coffee." she said in an official sounding voice. Luke rolled his eyes. She was enjoying this too much. He decided to get back to the topic on hand.

"I will give you free coffee for a WEEK, if you tell your father about Jason." he said. Lorelai's face fell. "You will feel better, I promise. I am sure Richard is a very reasonable man." he added.

"It's not him I'm worried about." Luke gave her a questioning look. "My mother will blow a gasket when she finds out. I didn't tell her about dating Jason, she wouldn't have approved if she had known and on top of that, she will somehow blame me for all of this." she said, pouting at the mere thought. Luke was starting to get impatient.

"So don't tell her."

"What?" Lorelai asked incredulously.

"Don't tell her. Talk to Richard when your mother isn't around. Tell him. I am sure he will understand. He has helped you with her in the past. He can just tell her that he overheard Jason. You don't even have to come up in the conversation. But the sooner you tell him, the sooner he can do something about it." Luke finished matter-of-factly. Lorelai stared at him as if he had just handed her a pot of gold. She jumped up off the couch.

"This could really work. He'll help, he knows her..." Lorelai began to pace the room as she mumbled to herself. All of a sudden, she realized Luke was still in the room. She walked over to where he was still sitting on the couch and bent down to hug him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered a "Thanks" in his ear. Luke wasn't used to so many hugs in such a short amount of time but he hugged her back nonetheless. As she went to let go, she lost her balance from bending over and fell onto Luke. As he moved to catch her they both fell sideways and landed on the couch. Lorelai lay on the couch with her legs over Luke's lap. Luke was bent over her, with his arms underneath her.

"Sorry" Lorelai said between giggles. Luke pulled his arms out from underneath her and sat up.

"Klutz" he said, rolling his eyes. Lorelai laughed again. She just lay there, smiling at him. Luke rolled his eyes again, but let a small grin creep through. The close contact and her pretty smile made him nervous.

"I better get back to the diner." he said looking out the window and standing up.

"Ok," she said, still smiling. "Thanks again for the help."

"No problem. See you later, Lorelai." he said opening the door.

"Bye Luke"

Luke walked out and shut the door behind him. He was glad she was feeling better, and even happier that he had contributed to that. He liked being able to help her. Until the end, that was. He hated when she was that close to him. Actually, not so much hated, as liked too much. Though he couldn't explain it, he could feel the life and emotion within her in the smallest touch. He had always thought that was strange. Even when she would merely touch his arm in the diner, it sent electric shocks through his skin. Forget hugs. That was like a sensory overload. He could feel all of her gratitude and adoration in that small act.

He had never felt that with Nicole. They had hugged and kissed many times, but not once had he known exactly how she was feeling because of it. He let out a sigh and sped up. The sooner he got to the diner, the sooner he could stop comparing Lorelai and Nicole.

Lorelai sighed as the door closed. Luke was so smart. How did he get that smart? She thought about how lucky she was to have him as a friend. Then she thought about how funny falling on him was. Luke hadn't seemed amused, but he did smile, so maybe it didn't bother him as much as he pretended it did. Luke was really strong. She was sure that even if the couch hadn't been there, he still wouldn't have let her hit the floor. She had never realized how strong he really was. She promised herself from now on she would invite him over anytime she had to move or lift anything remotely heavy. She smiled again at the memory of falling on him and went upstairs to shower. 


	4. The Next Step

Author's Note: See title and disclaimer in Chapter One. Sorry if this note gets long, I got lots of WONDERFUL reviews and I want to reply a bit. Thank you to Lyka for the suggestions on Nicole. I really don't think she is that bad either, I just don't think she is right for Luke. I am going to read over the transcripts with Nicole and maybe that will help me to get a handle on her. Thank you to Sway for letting me know about my commas. I freely admit I am a freak when it comes to grammar. I always want to get it right, because I have read stories that have bad punctuation and grammar and it ruins the mood for me. I tend to overdo commas so that I don't miss any. A beta-reader would probably help but I want to keep the updates quick. I will try to watch it though, so forgive me if the commas are plentiful. Also, I don't really believe that Lorelai's parents would think she wasn't good enough for Jason but I think Lorelai thinks that. I think they really do love her they just don't know how to show it. Well I can thank the winter gods for giving us a huge snowstorm and even college classes got canceled so I have a couple of days to write, write, write. Also, I got so many reviews in just the last day that I am excited to get going. I don't want to give away what I have planned for the next few chapters, but there will be some more of Nicole and Rory will play a little bigger part. Ok, enough of the rambling. On with the story.....

  
  


Chapter 4: The Next Step

A few hours later, Luke and Nicole were seated at dinner. Luke had chosen a nice restaurant that he knew Nicole liked. They had been there many times before. He wasn't sure why he never decided to take her anyplace new. He told himself he was doing it for her sake, not just because it was easier. Going some place she had enjoyed before showed he was thinking of her feelings. Right? 

Luke tried to concentrate on what Nicole was saying. Something about one of her cases. She had been talking since they sat down. She usually did. Luke always let her. That was for her sake too right? Luke tried to pay attention. The truth was, he didn't really care about her cases. He cared because she cared, but he mostly thought that they were idiots with idiotic problems. He watched her as she talked. She looked everywhere when she spoke, as if she was telling the story to anyone who was listening and not specifically to Luke. She only even ate between stories. Luke thought of Lorelai scarfing down her burger earlier that day. Nothing kept her from eating. If telling a story was that important she would either eat really fast, or talk with her mouth full. Also, Lorelai looked right at him when she told a story. She watched him, as if his reaction to it was more important than the story itself. When Luke caught himself comparing the two again, he squinted hard at Nicole determined to listen to her story.

Nicole didn't really care that Luke didn't always pay attention. That was how married couples were weren't they? Didn't the husband always have trouble listening to the wife? Things seemed good. They saw each other regularly, though Nicole had to admit, she was usually the one setting things up. Luke probably just needed more time to settle back into the relationship. At least, there hadn't been any more stories about Lorelai. It wasn't that she hated Lorelai. She honestly didn't think Lorelai even knew the way she behaved, but she knew Luke adored her. She wasn't sure how much he adored her but it was more than she liked. She told herself that the reason he didn't talk about Lorelai anymore was that he had realized how much Nicole meant to him and he was concentrating on making her feel good. She decided maybe it was time for something she had been thinking about before they had ever even married.

"Luke, things have been going good lately. Don't you think?" she asked.

"What? Oh yeah, they have," he said, confused at the sudden shift in conversation.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe it would be a good time to move in together."

"Nicole . . . "

"Just a minute," she said, cutting him off. "Before you say anything, let me finish." To Luke she sounded like a lawyer getting ready to plead her case. Wait a minute. She was a lawyer. Taking a breath, Nicole continued.

"It's just that we ARE married and dating seems to be going well, so maybe its time for that next step. And I know that the diner is in Star's Hollow and you will never sell it. That's fine. I'm not asking you to give anything up. We can get a place in Litchfield. It's close enough for both of us to commute. We don't have to get a house or anything. We can just rent an apartment," she said hopefully.

"Nicole, I don't know," Luke said frowning. "It's a little soon."

"It's not that soon. Just think about. Will you?" she said with a pleading look on her face.

"I will THINK about it," Luke said with a sigh.

"Thank you." Nicole smiled at Luke before she began in on another story.

  
  


About the same time in Star's Hollow, Lorelai decided that Luke was right and it was better to tell her father soon. She picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Rory?"

"Mom?"

"No, this is the census bureau. We are trying to determine the population of girls named Rory in the U.S." said Lorelai in an official sounding voice. She could practically hear Rory rolling her eyes.

"Mom, come on."

"You are the 301st Rory to call me mom. I will be marking that down."

"I'm hanging up now."

"No wait! Rory, it's me," Lorelai shouted.

"You're kidding," Rory said dryly. "What's up?"

"I need you to call your grandfather for me."

"What?"

"I need you to call and set up a lunch with him as soon as possible. Tell his secretary that it's very important."

"What? Why?"

"Well I have to talk to him, but if my mother finds out she'll want to know why and Luke said I didn't have to tell her," she said quickly, hoping Rory wouldn't ask what was going on, but knowing that she would.

"I will call him on the condition that you tell me exactly what is going on. Right now," said Rory sternly. 

"Well you know Jason?" Lorelai began.

"Yeah" Rory prodded.

"You know how he and I have been seeing each other?"

"Yes I do recall that."

"And he works for Grandpa?"

"Yes" Rory said impatiently.

"And Grandpa doesn't know we are dating?" Lorelai stalled.

"Oh god! You're getting married!" Rory exclaimed.

"No!" Lorelai shrieked.

"You're pregnant?" Rory asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Thanks a lot, Rory" said Lorelai, sounding hurt.

"Sorry, I didn't mean that, but I don't know what could be so big that you would be hesitating this much. It must be something bad, right?"

"Jason's working for his father," Lorelai said quickly.

"What?"

"Jason's still working for his father, giving him information about Grandpa." Lorelai said slowly and softly.

"No" Rory gasped.

"Yes"

"How did you find out?"

"I overheard him on the phone."

"Where?"

"At dinner last night." Rory gasped again.

"No! He couldn't even do it on his own time?"

"I never thought of that. Thanks." Lorelai said sarcastically.

"Oh mom, I'm sorry. He's a jerk. It in no way reflects on you," Rory said apologetically.

"Yeah." Lorelai didn't sound convinced.

"So, now you have to tell Grandpa?" Rory tried to change the subject.

"Yeah"

"So how does Luke come into this?"

"I went to Luke's after Jason and I broke up. He came over yesterday and brought me lunch. Then we talked about it and he helped me figure out how to tell him." Lorelai explained.

"That was nice of him." Rory smiled at the thought.

"Yes it was. Hey guess what!"

"What?"

"I fell on him." Lorelai said laughing at the memory.

"You what?"

"Remind me to set up an appointment with that ear specialist. I fell on him. I was hugging him and I lost my balance and I fell and he caught me and we both fell over on the couch." Lorelai said all at once.

"You fell on him?"

"Yes, Rory."

"On purpose?"

"What? No, why would I do that on purpose?"

"The whole damsel-in-distress thing," Rory said, sorry she had asked.

"What?"

"I don't know. He comforts you, brings you food, helps you with your problems. Maybe it was just you wanting Luke to keep taking care of you," Rory said, uneasily.

"You seriously need to drop that psych class." Lorelai said. She knew what Rory was insinuating. She had heard it before and she wasn't in the mood for it tonight.

"I don't take psych, but maybe I should. We could call it the Prince Charming syndrome." She laughed, knowing her mother wouldn't talk about it at the moment.

"Ugh," Lorelai groaned. "I am hanging up now."

"I will call you after I set it up with Grandpa. Goodnight mom."

"Goodnight Rory."


	5. Plan B

Author's Note: See Title and Disclaimer in Chapter 1. Sorry this update took so long. I only got two reviews in the last two days so I wasn't sure how much people were really reading this. I want to thank my best friend for reading it and enjoying it, so I was able to get back into it. I know these first few chapters have been a little actionless when it comes to JavaJunkie stuff but I promise its coming.Ok, I don't know exactly how Richard operates his business, but before I get all sorts of email about this not being correct, Richard retired in Season 2 and started up his own business toward the end of Season 2. In Season 3 he had his secretary set up a meeting with Lorelai so I am guessing that means that he does not work from home. Also, I read the transcript and the secretary's name is Karen. Most people probably don't care, but I did research it so I would be accurate.

Please Read and Review to let me know there is still some interest. I have the events of the next few chapters in mind but any suggestions are helpful too. Also, the comedy will pick up. 

On with the story . . . 

  
  


Chapter 5: Plan B

  
  


Monday morning Lorelai was out of bed by 6:00 a.m. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen 6:00 a.m., but on this morning it felt late. She hadn't slept well at all the night before. When she had finally gotten out of bed, it was because she couldn't lay their trying to be calm anymore. She showered and picked out an outfit that she thought would make her feel strong. She didn't feel strong. She felt nervous. She wanted to go to Luke's. She wanted him to do what he had done yesterday. She wanted him to convince her that telling Richard was the right thing to do. But she didn't. Something Rory had said the night before was stuck in her mind. Did she really want Luke to take care of her all the time? She had taken care of herself for 18 years. Why would she possibly need anyone to do that for her? She hadn't noticed him taking care of her yesterday. Now that she thought about it, she realized that Rory was right. That was what he was doing. But it just felt so natural, so right. Like it was exactly what she needed at the time. 

She shook those thoughts from her head and instead concentrated on seeing her dad that afternoon. Rory had called Richard late last night, instead of his secretary early this morning. She knew that the sooner Lorelai could talk to him, the better. Rory also knew that he would gladly see her even on such short notice. She had told him she was having a problem with a professor and needed to talk to him privately. That wasn't completely a lie. Paris and the affair were driving her insane, but she decided to let Paris make her own mistakes. 

Lorelai dug through papers on her kitchen table looking for the one with the details of the meeting. Rory had called her back last night to tell her it was all already set up. Lorelai had balked at the idea of seeing him so soon, but knew that it was for the best. She had searched all night for the words to tell him about Jason. She still had no idea what she was going to say. But right now she wasn't thinking about that. She was thinking about everything that could go wrong. She knew each was silly but each scenario chipped away at her confidence. Richard could be disappointed to see her. He could refuse to believe her. What if her mother showed up, expecting to have a chance to see Rory? 

Her dad believed he was meeting Rory at 11. It was barely eight and Lorelai had already paced the house a dozen times. She decided on a new plan and grabbed her coat and purse before running out the door.

Lorelai turned the radio up as she drove. She blasted it and forced herself to sing to every song, whether she knew the words or not. She didn't want to think. She just wanted to get there and do. She sped up as she forced her brain to shut up for a bit.

She parked quickly and rushed to her father's office. She ran past his objecting secretary and burst into his office. He was on the phone, but was only shocked for a moment before he went back to the call he was on. Lorelai waited impatiently for him to hang up. 

"Well Peter, I expected those papers this morning and I don't see them. Now if you'd like to continue working with us it would be in your best interest to have them delivered by the time I get back from lunch. Good day." Richard hung up the phone. "Lorelai, what are you doing here?"

"I couldn't wait until lunch" she said out of breath.

"I couldn't see you at lunch anyway. I have an appointment with Rory" he said shifting through some papers.

"No, you don't. Rory called you for me." she said trying to get his attention.

"What are you talking about?" He got up and walked out the main office area. Lorelai followed him.

"The appointment was with me. Rory called so that I could meet with you privately without mom knowing." Richard still didn't look at her. "I need to talk to you" Lorelai said urgently.

"Well talk. Karen, where did I put that fax from Howard?" Richard said still walking around.

"Dad!" Lorelai yelled. He finally looked at her. "I NEED to talk to you."

Richard was about to tell her it wasn't necessary to yell, but when he looked at her face he saw how upset she was. 

"Come into my office. Sit down" he said closing the door behind them. "Now what's wrong?"

"Dad, there's something I need to tell you."

"I gathered that, Lorelai."

"Look, don't ask how right now, but I overheard Jason on the phone. He was talking to his father." Lorelai stared at her hands in her lap.

"Jason Stiles?" Richard interrupted.

"Yes" she said quietly.

"Well I am sure Jason talks to him. It is his father." He was clueless as to what she was so upset about. Lorelai could see his interest waning.

"No, Dad, he was talking to him about you."

"Why would he be talking to Floyd about me?" Now Richard was just plain confused.

"He was talking about your business" Lorelai said in just above a whisper. She looked up nervously. Richard sat still for a moment, thinking.

"So" he began slowly. "What you're saying is Jason is giving Floyd information about our business." Lorelai nodded. "So he has been working for his father the entire time?"

"That would be my guess" Lorelai shrugged.

Richard sat quietly for a moment. Lorelai watched him apprehensively. She had rarely seen her father yell, but she expected that this was a very appropriate time. Richard looked at her thoughtfully. Then, he began to laugh.


	6. Deals, Dreams, and Danish

Author's Note: See disclaimer and Title in Chapter One. I am so sorry it took so long to update. I am sure everyone thought I abandoned this story. My computer crashed twice in the last week, so tonight was the first chance I got. The only good part was that without other fanfics to distract me I got a lot of writing done on paper. I have enough chapters now to update every night this week. Thanks for many more great reviews. The review amount seemed to jump after that last cliffhanger so I might have to try it again. This chapter was harder to write so I feel like the quality may not be as good as the first few. Please let me know what you think. Also, apologies to Justin because I went back and read the transcript and Luke was into Star Trek and not Star Wars, so my wonderful conversation didn't work and I had to scrap it. Sorry. Well I promise updates come hell or high water, so keep up the faith and the reviews. 

On with the story . . . 

  
  
  
  


Chapter 6: Deals, Dreams and Danish

  
  


"So then he starts laughing!" Lorelai exclaimed, sounding just as unbelieving as when it was actually happening. 

"Laughing?" Luke frowned. He didn't see how that was an appropriate reaction.

"Yeah, I know. It turns out that this is great for him. Apparently, there is a confidentiality agreement in Jason's contract, so not only can my dad fire him, but he and all Jason's clients can sue him for violating it," Lorelai explained excitedly. Luke smiled. He was happy for her.

"Wow. So no harm came from the spying?" 

"He intended it to, I guess." Lorelai sighed. "My dad went back and looked and apparently Jason offered all his clients really bad deals so that it would easy for Floyd to come in and top them. When I left, my dad was calling them all up and offering them better deals and not so subtly informing them of their right to sue," she finished with a shrug of her shoulders. 

"Wow" Luke repeated.

"Yeah who knew the world of insurance could be so. . . . " Lorelai hesitated. "Well not so boring."

"That does seem like it ended well for him." Luke also sounded relieved. Lorelai thought for a minute, then frowned.

"Yeah, until my mother finds out." Luke knew no conversation about her mother could end happily. He wanted her to stay happy, at least for a while. He searched for a diversion.

"What did Richard say about you dating Jason?" He asked casually. Lorelai flinched.

"Nothing, really" She avoided looking at Luke, but he had seen it in her face anyway.

"You didn't tell him." He stared at her, demanding that she look at him. 

"Not so much." She looked up. Luke looked at her like disappointed parent. "But I think he knew anyway," Lorelai argued quickly. Luke again saw a child looking out through her eyes. He sighed.

"So, what's he going to tell Emily?"

"What you said. About him overhearing Jason himself." She munched on the remaining fries in front of her.

"So everything's alright?" Luke questioned still looking at her.

"Yeah, looks like it." she said satisfied that her father would be fine.

"What about you?" Luke looked down at her almost empty mug.

"What about me?" She cocked her head, not really understanding.

"Are you alright?" His voice was deep and gruff, as if he was trying to hide his sincerity. Luke turned to make more coffee. Lorelai recognized his retreat at the seriousness of the conversation. She had seen it many times before. She smiled but decided to let it go. 

"Oh, you mean about Jason?" She wrinkled her nose at the thought of him. Luke only grunted in reply. "I'm alright. I'm still pretty angry, but it wasn't really serious or anything." Luke fought his impulse to turn and look at her. He knew his face would betray him. He only nodded. Lorelai continued. "Although I did have a dream about him last night." Luke turned, relieved. Things were normal again.

"That's a scary thought. Were there twins?" He smirked inwardly, remembering her dream about him. He filled her mug again.

"Oh Luke, you know you're the only man I want to father my dream children," Lorelai said overly dramatically. "No, there were a lot of tv's though." Luke nodded as if this was totally normal. Lorelai continued her story. "Jason was chasing me and everywhere I went big tv's would pop out at me." She waved her hands around as she explained. She waited expectantly for his reaction. He just stared at her. "Care to analyze?" she asked. Luke sighed.

"Lorelai, nobody's dreams make sense, least of all yours." Her face fell. It wasn't the answer she was looking for.

"I miss Rory." she sighed. When Luke looked at her questioningly, she explained. "She used to analyze my dreams." Luke nodded. They fell silent and Lorelai stared out the window. Luke didn't want to stop the conversation on that sort of note. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Do you think you would have told them? If it had been serious?" It took a minute for Lorelai to register what he was talking about. She considered it.

"I don't know. Maybe. It might squash my mother's notion about my secret love for someone," she said after a moment. She immediately regretted bringing it up. Luke could tell she was kidding, but he was interested nonetheless.

"Who's that?" he asked, barely containing his curiosity. Lorelai looked at him for a moment. Both stared, each trying to read the other's eyes. 

The phone rang loudly behind Luke. They both jumped at the noise. Luke hesitantly turned around to answer it.

"Luke's. Oh. Hi, Nicole," Luke said evenly.

Lorelai got up to leave. She wasn't sure why but she didn't want to stick around and hear what they talked about. She wanted Luke to be happy, and Nicole was his wife, but she made Lorelai uneasy all the same. She slid money underneath her coffee mug and gathered her things. Luke noticed. He put his hand over the receiver and called her name. She turned, but he realized he had nothing to say. She looked at him expectantly.

"Um, tomorrow's Free Danish Day" he finished lamely.

"You just had one last week," she teased.

"I own the place. I can have another. Just be there." he said sternly. She smiled.

"Bye Luke."

"Bye Lorelai."


	7. Evolution

Author's Note: Wow, I have nothing to say really. I know the Jason thing seemed a little too easy, but I didn't want to get bogged down in it. I really want to get to the Java Junky goodness. Thanks for the reviews. Keep them coming. I know its cliche but they really do make me want to write faster.

On with the story . . . 

  
  


Chapter 7: Evolution

  
  


Nicole sat at her desk, trying to concentrate on her latest case. She had been distracted all morning. How long would Luke take to "think about it?" She picked up the phone. What was she doing? It had only been a day. She reminded herself not to smother him. She put the phone back down. He was her husband. What did he have to think about? She knew exactly what he had to think about, but she refused to admit it. She wasn't going to give him the chance to think about that. She picked the phone up again and dialed. 

She listened to it ring. Once. Twice. She was just about to hang up when he answered.

"Luke's" He sounded like he was in the middle of something. Maybe it was just the lunch rush.

"Hey Luke. It's me." She forced her voice to sound casual. "I was just calling to-"

"Just a minute" Luke interrupted. She heard muffled noises and guessed his hand was over the phone. For a second she thought he was just helping a customer. Then she heard voices. There was Luke's and then there was another. A female voice. It sounded like a conversation. She couldn't make out the words, but the tone came across loud and clear. It was sweet and affectionate. Light and teasing, but serious nonetheless. There was only one woman Nicole could think of that Luke would talk to that way. She knew getting angry would do no good. Luke didn't respond well to her jealousy, but she couldn't help it. She could never seem to get away from her. Before she had a chance to get really upset, Luke was back.

"Sorry about that. Customers" he explained.

"Yeah" she agreed.

"What were you saying?"

"Oh, I was just calling to see how you were," she said remembering why she had called in the first place.

Luke rolled his eyes, glad she couldn't see him. He knew exactly why she was calling. He refused to be badgered into an answer.

"I'm fine," he said feigning ignorance. "Just working as usual."

"Oh. And how's that going?" Nicole cringed at her own transparency. At least he seemed to believe her.

"Also fine," he said evenly. "Kirk was in here for awhile trying to sell his Star's Hollow Brand Water."

"Star's Hollow water?" she laughed.

"Yeah, he gets it from a creek around here, but then he has to purify it and bottle it himself so it ends up costing 3 times as much as normal water. He's an idiot."

Nicole smiled at the thought. She didn't think much of the small town character's, but she liked that things seemed normal. This also gave her an easy segue into her real agenda. 

"You could always hire help. You wouldn't have to work as much and you could see much less of Kirk." She did her best to sound more helpful and less controlling.

"I like work. Besides, where would I go if I wasn't here?" He knew where she was going with this conversation, but he still held out hope that she would give it up for the day.

"We could spend more time together," she suggested.

"We spend plenty of time together." He was getting frustrated. "We go out all the time. I take off work every time you ask." He held his breath, trying not to sound angry. 

"That's just it Luke. I ask. I am always the one asking. You are my husband, it should be assumed that we will be together." She fought the whine in her voice.

"You know damn well Nicole, we are not married in the normal sense. We have discussed this before. We got married too soon. It's just a technicality." He didn't try to hide his frustration anymore, but he still spoke slowly, trying to keep his voice low. The last thing he needed now was an audience. Nicole, however, gave in to her fury. 

"Luke, I don't want it to be technicality! Things have been good for a long time, but they aren't going anywhere. We didn't get divorced for a reason. We can't stay stationary forever. If dating works, why wouldn't living together? What could possibly be holding you back?" Every word got louder and she was breathless by the time she finished. Her heart was pounding and she was glad she had closed the blinds on her office windows. She could only imagine the looks being exchanged outside.

Luke was ready to explode. He had told her he would think about it. Why was she pushing this? He knew exactly what she had insinuated with her last question, but he was sick of this fight. He was sick of defending himself. He wasn't going to get into it again. He took a deep breath before answering her calmly.

"Nicole, I said I would think about it, and I am. I promise I am. Look maybe we should take a few days to cool off. I will do some thinking and I will call you at the end of the week. We're both frustrated and that's not good for either of us." Luke felt deflated.

"But Luke . . ." Nicole began.

"Goodbye Nicole." Luke cut her off. 

He hung up the phone. He felt like an ass. She was technically his wife and for all intents and purposes his girlfriend. He knew that wasn't how you were supposed to treat your girlfriend. She just frustrated him lately. He didn't understand why everything was such a rush. If things were so great right now, why couldn't they stay that way for awhile. He wondered why he was so reluctant to move forward. He really did like being with Nicole. He had been the one pursuing her in the beginning. What was so different now? He wondered if maybe his feelings had already evolved into all they ever would for her. Was she really just not the one, or was he just so used to being alone that he was scared of change? If it was the latter, he wondered how he could get over it. If she really wasn't the one, he would feel like an even bigger ass for leading her on. He just wanted answers. He had created this situation for himself by proposing in the first place, but he had no idea to get out of it, or at least make it better. He didn't need to think. He needed to talk. He knew who he would usually talk to about this type of thing. He contemplated calling her for a split-second before concluding that it would be the worst possible thing he could do. After her reaction to his marriage, he had avoided the whole subject of his wife/ girlfriend. He didn't think she could offer un-biased advice this time. Also, if he was going to try to make something with Nicole, he didn't think going to the one person she had a problem with would be a good start. He sighed and rubbed his eyes wishing something would make sense. All of a sudden, an idea popped into his head. It was his first clear thought in a while so he didn't stop to think. He just grabbed the phone and dialed.


	8. The Grouchy Uncle

Author's Note: See Title and Disclaimer in Chapter One. I just wanted to say that I am very proud of this chapter. After that last chapter I thought I had written myself into, well not a corner, but a very small hallway. You know, one of those proceed with caution types. I thought it would be really easy to screw up this chapter with the phone call. My pride may be completely misplaced however so let me know what you think about my characterization and such. I know that it will start to be out of character when I move towards the Luke and Lorelai stuff but I am going to try my best to keep them out of the pit they sometimes fall in and become caricatures. If you read a lot of L/L fanfics you will know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I really really want to know what everyone thought of this chapter. If you don't feel like posting a review, email me or im me on AIM or MSN (see my profile for screennames). I want lots and lots of opinions. Thanks.

  
  


On with the story. . . 

  
  
  
  


Chapter 8: The Grouchy Uncle

  
  


Luke didn't begin to think about what he was doing until the phone was ringing. He was just about to hang up, when she answered.

"Hello?"

Luke didn't know what to say. What could he say? There was no good way to explain this.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Is this Jess again?" She sounded angry.

"Oh! No, Rory. It's Luke." He wasn't sure if that would make her feel better or worse.

"Luke? Is everything ok? Did something happen to my mom?" Now she sounded worried. Great Idea, Luke.

"No. No she's fine. Everyone is fine." He searched for something to say next. His mind was a complete blank. For days he hadn't been able to concentrate on anything because his mind wouldn't stop racing and now he didn't have a thought in his head.

"Oh, that's good. Um, How are you?" Rory just as at a loss as Luke was. She wasn't unhappy that he had called. She missed everyone in Star's Hollow and she really missed Luke. She was used to seeing him every day, talking to him every day. Hearing his voice was nice, but completely unexpected. It didn't seem like a very Luke-like thing to do. She was very curious about why he had called but she didn't want to scare him off by asking right away.

"I'm good" he said lamely.

"Are you sure?" Rory said doubtfully.

"Yeah, I'm just . . . " Luke knew Rory could tell he wasn't good. She inherited that gift from her mother. He had never really discussed his problems with Rory, he usually saved that for Lorelai, but he was sure Rory had heard all about them from her mother. He knew he needed to get to a point soon or Rory was sure to think he had finally lost it. "Actually, I'm not okay."

"You don't say" said Rory amused. She was concerned about him, but she always found it funny when Luke was serious. It was so completely the opposite of his normal behavior that she found it endearing. "So, what's up?" She was determined to make him as comfortable as possible in sharing his personal problems.

"Actually, its about Nicole" he started.

"Oh!" Rory wasn't sure she wanted to be hearing this. "Don't you want to talk to my mom about that?"

"No!" he answered quickly. "I can't talk to her about this."

"Oh." She wasn't sure what to say. She had never really liked Nicole. Mostly because her mother didn't, but also because she had never felt that Nicole was good enough for Luke. She knew Luke had feelings for her mother. Everyone knew that. And she was fairly sure that deep down Lorelai had feelings for him too. Rory always figured eventually they would figure it out. She never worried when her mother dated anyone because she didn't think that any of them would be the forever type of relationship. She had thought it might be with Max. Lorelai seemed so sure. When it hadn't worked out, Rory had felt bad for Max. He was a nice guy after all. But she had also been relieved. Her mother didn't belong with Max forever. Rory didn't even feel Christopher would have been a good match for Lorelai. She loved her father but she couldn't deny that he had not been a good man to either one of them. But, because Luke was such a good man, Rory had tried hard to ignore what was going on with him and Nicole. She didn't really want to hear about her, partly because she didn't like Nicole and partly because Luke had always been like a part of the family to her. Sometimes close enough to be like a father, usually at the least a grouchy uncle. No matter how much of an adult she could be, she did not want any of those type of details. She was scared to ask any of the questions she was thinking, but she didn't have to worry because Luke continued.

"I'm sorry, Rory. I just can't involve her in this. She usually involves herself in all my decisions, though, so I have forgotten how to make any myself. I know this is weird, I'm just desperate here and I figured you would be able to give me the same perspective that she would, just less complicated." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Rory" he repeated.

"It's okay, Luke." Rory found herself smiling again. Luke was cute when he let go of his gruffness. "I understand. I'm here to help. Lay it on me."

"Thanks" was all Luke could come up with. He didn't know where to begin. He had thought asking Rory for help would be the hard part. Now he had no idea how to explain to her what was going on. He never usually had to explain to Lorelai. She usually told him what his problems were and then told him what to do. He liked that method.

"Luke? You still there?"

"Yeah, sorry. I just, um, don't really know where to begin."

"Ok, so it's about Nicole." Rory tended to let other people explain their problems but she knew Luke needed the Lorelai brand of help and that included guessing his problems for him.

"Yeah he said." He paused before blurting, "She wants me to move to Litchfield with her."

"Oh." Rory was taken aback. Aside from her own feelings about Luke leaving Star's Hollow, and the reaction she was sure the town would have, she just couldn't picture Luke wanting to leave.

"Yeah" he said hoping she would get it. She did.

"You don't want to. Do you?"

"No" he said relieved she was following along. "I'm not exactly sure why though." Lorelai knew him better than he knew himself. He was praying some of that wisdom had been passed on to Rory.

"Well there are lots of reasons" she said knowingly. 

"Way to be vague" he retorted. Rory rolled her eyes. She really would have to pull a Lorelai on him and tell him what he was thinking.

"Luke, Star's Hollow is your home. You have spent practically your whole life in that diner. That could be a reason you wouldn't want to leave. Also, you and Nicole moved pretty fast with the whole marriage thing and maybe it scared you. Maybe you don't want to move ahead too quickly again. So, maybe you're just nervous. Or maybe your heart is really trying to tell you something. Like maybe, Nicole isn't the one. Maybe you don't want to live with her because you know it can never go anywhere." Rory was surprised at her own insight. Luke was relieved. They had been his thoughts exactly, but Rory spelled them out so simply.

"Any idea which of those theories it might be?" he asked hopefully.

"Well, no, not with any certainty. I'm sure my mom could tell you in a second, but alas I'm still learning." She was trying to lighten his mood. She got an idea. "Let's try to narrow it down."

"What?"

"Would you want to live with Nicole if she moved in with you?"

"What? My apartment is way too small for that. Nicole would never like it there. She is used to big fancy places." Rory closed her eyes. She should've guessed that Luke would miss her point.

"No, Luke. I mean forgetting semantics, if living with Nicole in Star's Hollow sounded okay then that would probably mean that leaving home was all that was stopping you," she explained.

"Oh." Luke thought about it but didn't elaborate. Rory didn't ask. She wanted to help but she thought Luke should make this decision on his own.

"Can you imagine your self living with her eventually? I mean Rachel lived with you so I don't think you are one of those commitment-phobic guys." Luke nodded, then realized that she couldn't see him.

"That makes sense."

"So does that help any? I mean you probably need to think and decide for yourself" she said nervously. 

"Yeah, Rory, it does. It helps a lot." The Gilmore girls never failed to amaze Luke.

"Good." Rory was relieved. She didn't want hers or anyone else's opinions to interfere. "Anything else?"

"No, that's all I needed. Thank you again."

"Anytime."

"Oh, Rory? One more thing?"

"Sure."

"Can you not tell your mother?" Rory laughed.

"Sure, Luke"

"Thanks." Luke felt like he should offer her something to maintain his position as the adult. "Um, be good. Visit soon and there will be a chocolate sprinkled donut in it for you." Rory smiled. She missed him.

"See you soon, Luke"

"Bye Rory"

Luke hung up the phone feeling twenty times better. She had really put things in perspective for him. When he thought about it, he realized that Rory had never offered her opinion on the situation. She just helped him to realize his own feelings. Lorelai was different in that way. She offered her opinion on everything. Though it bugged him sometimes, he liked it all the same. No matter how hard he tried, he always cared what Lorelai thought. He actually did care what Rory thought too, but right now he liked that she hadn't offered it. It made him feel like this was really something he was doing on his own. It made him feel less helpless. Though he agreed with Rory that he should probably think about it, he was almost positive what his decision would be.


	9. Bloody Mary's and Lucky Charms

Author's Note: See Disclaimer and Title in Chapter One. Sorry it took so long to update. I had only planned ahead to the last chapter so after I wrote it I was stuck. But my brain has been on overdrive the past couple of days and not only do I have the rest of the story planned out in detail, but I have some ideas for a sequel in mind too. I am probably getting ahead of myself here but if there is interest when this one is done, I will be prepared to write. Also, sorry this chapter is sort of long. I had actually planned on including more but this one was already five pages so I had to break it off and add a chapter. I had a lot of fun writing Emily so let me know if she is in character. I have every chapter planned out now so I am prepared to post every day now, except every time I go back over my notes I find another chapter I want to add so the story keeps getting longer and longer. Keep the feedback coming. I crave it now.

P.S. If anyone happens to know what Andrew, Bootsy or Gypsy do for a living and can point me toward an episode with that in it, I would be ever so thankful.

On with the story....

Chapter 9: Bloody Mary's and Lucky Charms

"And then, Kirk seconds him!" said Lorelai as she pulled into her parents' driveway.

"I can't believe Taylor suggested a bachelor auction for the next town fundraiser," Rory said. She loved coming back early on Fridays to ride to Hartford with her mom. It gave them time to catch up before they had to face dinner with the Gilmores.

"Well I guess he thought some elbow-patch-loving lass would like to do the bridge some good." Lorelai shut off the ignition and removed her seatbelt.

"Has anyone ever told Taylor that big rocks would work just as well as the bridge? That pond is so small it dries up on hot days for gosh sakes!" Lorelai laughed at her daughter. She missed marveling at the town's craziness with Rory. "Why was Kirk so anxious to help?"

"He finally has someone who is required to buy him" Lorelai explained as they approached the front walk.

"Oh, that's right. Lulu was it?"

"Yeah, he's even practiced his beefcake routine"

"Liar!"

"Would I use Kirk and beefcake in the same sentence if I wasn't serious?"

"Sorry. Please continue" Rory said, ringing the bell.

"Yeah, it goes a little something like this. Bow chicka bow wow" Lorelai sang, taking off her scarf and twirling it around her head.

"Okay, you had me going for awhile. You are the master." Rory rolled her eyes, but Lorelai just kept singing adding a slight hip swivel to her dance. She was so into it that she didn't hear the door open behind her. Only when Rory snickered did she stop.

"Lorelai Gilmore! What on earth are you doing?" Her mother's sharp tone brought back quite a few childhood memories. Lorelai straightened up quickly and turned around. 

"Oh. Hi Mom. I was just explaining my new job to Rory." Lorelai said straight faced.

"What?" Emily's eyes were large and round. 

"Yeah, you know, some extra money, just until the inn is up and running." Emily face continued to register shock until Lorelai added, "I was just telling Rory I could get her a job there too. Some spending money while she's in college." Emily adopted her usual stern stare and Lorelai was forced to hold back a grin. "Can we come in or are we eating on the porch tonight?"

"Yes, come in." Emily ignored Lorelai's jokes and turned to head into the living room. By the time they got there she seemed to brighten. "Please sit, girls" she said with a smile. Lorelai and Rory exchanged a curious glance. "I thought tonight we would have a little fun. I've made my special . . . " Emily paused for a moment before bellowing "CELERY!"

"You've made special celery?" Lorelai asked with mock innocence. "Ooh, is that like 'special' brownies, because those would be fun." Lorelai rubbed her hands together in anticipation. Emily looked confused, as she usually did when Lorelai babbled like this.

"What are you talking about Lorelai? I was calling the maid" Emily said annoyed.

"Your maid's name is Celery? Where's she from?"

"I was asking for the celery" Emily said exasperated as a scared looking girl hurried into the living room with a tray full of celery. She set it down on the side table and began to hurry back out when Emily cleared her throat loudly. The woman froze and turned. "Coats" Emily said sternly, arching one eyebrow at her. The girl turned and hurried over to Lorelai and Rory. 

"Money?" Lorelai asked holding out her hand.

"Lorelai!"

"It was worth a shot. One-word commands seem to work for you" Lorelai grumbled.

"As I was saying," Emily continued. "I made my special Bloody Mary's, minus the Vodka for Rory of course."

"Of course" Lorelai raised her eyebrows at Rory. Rory held back a giggle. Emily, back in her chipper mood, handed Rory and Lorelai drinks and sat across from them. 

"So, Lorelai, what's new?" Emily said with a big smile.

"Well, Janet Jackson sullied the good name of the Super Bowl. But, really, how good a name was it?" Lorelai sighed and shook her head disapprovingly.

"With you, Lorelai. What's new with you?" Emily held her smile, determined to be polite.

"Oh, same old, same old."

"How's the inn?"

"Fine."

"And Sookie?"

"Also, fine." Lorelai was used to her mother wanting to know everything about her life, but she wasn't used to her being so upbeat about it. She wanted to see how far her patience would go. Rory, who had been watching the two as if they were a tennis match, nudged her mother. When Lorelai glanced at her, she shot her a look telling her to be nice. Lorelai took a deep breath.

"Everything's good, mom. The construction on the inn is almost finished. It's mostly cosmetic now. Sookie's good. Davy is getting bigger every day and Jackson has more free time since we have six more weeks of winter now." Emily sighed, relieved, and nodded along.

"How old is little Davy now?"

"Three months. All signs point to a fourth, now that Michel has agreed not to baby-sit again." Emily looked to Rory to explain.

"There was an incident," Rory began. "Michel was playing a game and some how Davy ended up under the bed." Emily looked shocked but Lorelai and Rory nodded as if that explanation was more than sufficient. Emily decided to let it go.

"Well, that's good then. Anyone new in your love life, Lorelai?" Lorelai flinched in mid-sip.

"Uh, no." Lorelai played with her celery stalk.

"What was that?" 

"What was what?"

"You winced."

"I didn't wince."

"Yes, you did."

"Really, it was more of a shudder."

"Fine. Why did you shudder?"

"A new tic? It's barely noticeable when you compare it to the Tourettes-like outbursts. " Rory nudged her again. "It was nothing mom, really. I was just startled. The question surprised me is all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. Positive." Emily's curious stare was interrupted by the maid announcing dinner. As Emily walked to the dining room, Lorelai gave Rory a fearful look. Rory just shrugged her shoulders helplessly. Both girls joined Emily at the table, where she continued her cheerful questioning.

"Rory, how is school?"

"Good." When Lorelai snorted, Rory quickly elaborated. "Classes are good. Paris is gone a lot so I have the room to myself to study as much as I need to. Tana spends a lot of time with her new boyfriend, when she remembers." Emily looked intrigued. Lorelai smiled, amused not only at Rory's odd roommate but also at the look on her mother's face. She kept quiet though, grateful that Rory was such a good distraction. "Paris strategically cut pieces of Janet's trampoline so that it looked normal, but when Janet went to jump on it, it tore through completely. All was quiet until Janet took up Tae Bo to bug Paris. Now there is a lot of sweating and grunting."

"Dirty" Lorelai giggled and both women looked at her momentarily before continuing the original conversation. 

"I thought you said Paris wasn't around much?" Emily asked.

"She's not. Janet does it at night, and Paris is usually out late every night. I pity Billy Blank the first night Paris stays in." Emily laughed a little harder than normal and Lorelai gave her a skeptical look.

"What is Paris doing that she's always out so late?" Rory looked at Lorelai unsure how to answer. Lorelai mimicked Rory's earlier shoulder-shrug.

"Um, just some stuff for school" Rory said nervously.

"Like extracurriculars?" Emily questioned.

"You could say that" Lorelai said cryptically. Emily gave her a confused look for a moment.

"Have you ever thought of joining her?" Emily asked Rory. Lorelai choked on the water she was drinking. "Lorelai, it wouldn't hurt her to get a little more involved."

"Mom, I don't think Rory is into that." Lorelai said placatingly.

"Lorelai, it won't kill her to try. That sort of thing could really put her in good standing at Yale."

"You could say that again" said Lorelai smirking. Rory could see her grandmother prepare to argue back and interrupted.

"I'll think about it Grandma, okay?" she asked appeasingly. Emily softened.

"So Rory, how about you? Any new names on your dance card?" Lorelai shook her head at her mother's attempt at innuendo.

"There will be soon." Lorelai snickered. Emily looked at her again with her usual combination of annoyance and confusion.

"Nothing big" Rory answered quickly to avoid a fight. "I have a date with Marty soon, but it's a casual thing." Lorelai stopped snickering.

"You're going out with the naked guy?"

"It's a casual thing." Rory insisted.

"Fine, but if at any point during the night he suggests Tit for Tat, just say no."

"Eww! Gross, mom." Rory wrinkled her nose. Lorelai grinned. Emily sighed with exasperation. 

"Who is the naked guy and what is 'a casual thing'?" she asked making air quotes with her fingers. Rory looked at Lorelai but she just mirrored Emily's expectant look. Rory sighed and explained.

"You met Marty at the football game. There was a thing with a keg and some nudity in the hallway. It's just a friendly date. Nothing fancy."

"Oh, yes. I remember now." Emily nodded.

"So how about you Grandma? Anything new with you?" Rory asked, eager to change the subject.

"Yeah mom, any new lads itching to try your Lucky Charms?" Lorelai added. Emily gave her a disapproving look and Lorelai laughed. Many times, when Lorelai laughed at Emily, she laughed as if it were some inside joke only she and Rory could understand. This time she laughed as if Emily were a part of the gang and she had been harmlessly teasing her. Emily let go of her properness and considered the joke. She found herself laughing too. 

"So where is Grandpa?" Rory asked.

"He's in New York for a few days." Emily said sadly. "After this whole fiasco he has had to rush off to all these meetings and assure them in person that this will never happen again."

Rory looked over at Lorelai who was pushing food around her plate with her fork. It wasn't Lorelai's fault, but Rory knew she felt guilty that Jason had done this to her father. Emily noticed the girls' behavior but figured they just felt bad for Richard. She had called Lorelai and Rory on Tuesday to tell them the news. Both had said they were really sorry and asked if there was anything they could do. 

"The DAR is doing very well" Emily blurted, breaking the silence. Both girls looked up at her curiously. "We are planning a huge fundraiser next month." They nodded slowly. "Actually, I was thinking you could plan it, Lorelai." Lorelai took a deep breath. So that was what had provoked the 'special Bloody Mary's.'

"You want me to plan it?"

"Yes, well you handle events like this all the time at the inn."

"The inn burned down, mom."

"You could have it in the Town's Square" Rory piped up. Lorelai kicked her under the table. "It's pretty and it can hold lots of people." Rory said stubbornly.

"That sounds wonderful" Emily said happily. "We would be happy to pay you, Lorelai. Plus, we already did a test run, so I'm sure you are very capable."

"Uh huh" Lorelai said warily.

"What's the charity, Grandma?" Rory asked. 

"Impoverished Artists" Emily said quickly, hoping they wouldn't question it.

"Aren't all artists impoverished?" Lorelai asked sarcastically.

"Aren't there any needier . . . needy?" Rory agreed. Emily sighed.

"It was Glenda Johnson's idea" she said, shaking her head. "What she didn't explain to everyone was that the impoverished artist was just her son trying to make a movie."

"Ooh! Can I be in it?" Lorelai asked. Emily's face registered defeat and Rory gave Lorelai a pleading look. Lorelai could see her mother was trying and she had to admit, Emily could be giving her more grief than she was.

"Pick another cause, mom. Then we'll talk" she said relenting. Emily smiled brightly but just nodded and the rest of dinner was finished in relative silence. 


	10. Come Crying to Me

Author's Note: See Disclaimer and Author's Note in Chapter One. Okay, this is what I had planned on being part of Chapter 9 but it would've been way too long. Before anyone gets mad, I really do like country music. The Lonestar song was playing at the time I wrote this and miraculously seemed to fit. I just figured Luke would not be the sad country music type. Thank you for the direction with the characters jobs. It helped a lot. Also, I looked at my notes for the story and 3/4 of the rest of the chapters are Luke and Lorelai interaction. I promise its coming. I'm anxious to get to it too, so I will probably be updating faster until we get there. Thanks for sticking with me.

On with the story . . . 

Chapter 10: Come Crying to Me

"Well that was an interesting evening" Rory said as they walked out to their car after dinner.

"You can say that again" Lorelai agreed.

"Are you going to help her?" Rory asked, shivering in the cold as she waited for Lorelai to unlock the Jeep.

"I don't know." Lorelai sighed, but didn't elaborate. 

"She was really trying, mom."

"I know."

"She was being really nice."

"I know, Rory." Lorelai prayed Rory would drop it, but knew she had her own tenacity. 

"It might make Grandpa feel better to see Grandma happy." Rory hated to use that card, but she really liked it when her mother and grandmother were on good terms. Lorelai turned to look at her and her mouth opened but nothing came out. She turned back to watch the road. An uncomfortable silence fell over them. Rory instantly felt like crap. She knew her mother felt guilty enough already. When they were almost to Star's Hollow Lorelai broke the silence.

"I'm stopping at Luke's. I will drop you off at home." Rory looked hurt.

"I'll go with you" she said quietly.

"No, you have studying to do. I want to talk to Luke. It will take awhile." She tried not sound angry. She really did want to talk to Luke. She wanted to talk to anyone but Rory right then. Sookie would definitely be busy with something and Luke always kept coffee on after closing on Friday's. He knew that she would usually need it after dinner with her parents. She loved that. She loved how it made her feel safe. She wasn't sure why, but knowing that it would always be there seemed like a giant cushion for life's little bumps. She couldn't wait to get to Luke's.

She dropped Rory off at home. Normally, she would walk the short distance to the diner. There was snow on the ground and she loved to take her time and enjoy it. Tonight, she just wanted comfort as soon as possible. The journey took five minutes when she drove. She parked next to the diner and smiled when she saw the light was on in the kitchen despite the dark diner. She noticed the 'Closed' sign and was surprised when her skin tingled at the thought of being special enough to just walk in anyway. She took a seat at the counter and waited anxiously when she heard footsteps in the back. Soon he emerged.

"Caesar? What are you doing here?" she asked confused and more than a little disappointed.

"Closing up" he said simply.

"Where's Luke?"

"He took a couple days off. Left town for a bit." Caesar watched her face fall and turned to pour her some coffee. He smiled lightly to himself. He couldn't wait until the day the two of them would realize what was practically hitting them over the head already. "He told me to keep a pot on for you. He thought you would need it."

"Smart man." Lorelai smiled shyly.

"He'll be back tomorrow" Caesar offered.

"Thanks, Caesar" Lorelai said, sounding a little better. She took her coffee and walked out. She wasn't ready to get home right away so she decided to walk. She needed time to think and she could pick up the Jeep tomorrow. 

She walked slowly. She had meant to think about what had happened with her mother and with Rory. Instead she found her thoughts focused on Luke. She wondered where he was. Maybe he was with Nicole. She shivered at the thought but convinced herself it was the cold. She couldn't deny the disappointment she felt when Luke hadn't been there tonight. He had been there so many other times. Always willing to listen and give her his thoughts. They weren't always what she wanted to hear, but that was what was so great. Luke always told her the truth. If she was being a jerk, he let her know it. When she was angry, he had a way of calming her down. She counted on that. She realized how much she really did rely on him. Did he do that for Nicole? She wondered why she hated the idea so much. She didn't have to wonder long, however, because she was soon on her own front porch.

Elsewhere, Luke was also mulling things over. He wondered if he was making a mistake. He wished things could be simple. He sat in the dark room, drinking a beer and listening to soft country music on the radio. He hated country music. Between thoughts he caught a lyric or two.

"When you're tired of it all, and tears need to fall. Your backs to the wall, come crying to me"

His thoughts were drawn to Lorelai. He thought of the night almost a week ago when she had come crying to him. He rolled his eyes at his own pitifulness for relating to a sad country song. He kicked the table and the radio fell over, silencing. However, Lorelai wasn't shaken from his thoughts. He liked that she came to him when she was upset. He hated to see her cry. It made him nervous. He felt tense and never knew what to say or do, but he liked it all the same. He liked feeling needed. He liked being able to make her feel better. He never knew how much he helped, but it must be some if she came back. He wondered if she had come in looking for him tonight. She almost always came in after Friday night dinners. Every once in a while, things would be fine and they would laugh for a few minutes and she would leave. More often than not, however, she would be upset over a fight with her mother and they would spend the better part of an hour talking. He loved Friday nights. He hated not being there for her.

Lorelai noticed all the lights were out and figured Rory had gone to bed. She was ready for bed herself. She tiptoed into the dark house and bumped into a figure in the entryway. Lorelai screamed and beat them over the head with her purse. The figure ducked and reached for the light.

"It's a good thing that purse is strictly for decoration." Rory said, smoothing her hair.

"What were you doing creeping around like that?"

"I wasn't creeping. You were the one tiptoeing in. I was standing in one spot. I was lurking."

"Well, great front entryway lurking. Soon you'll be ready for back alleys."

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Talk." Lorelai was still mad, though she tried not to be. She hadn't gotten to talk it out with Luke and she hadn't gotten much resolved on the way home. She walked to the kitchen to avoid glaring at Rory.

"I'm sorry" Rory said following her. "I really didn't mean it the way it came out. I know you feel bad about this whole Jason thing. You shouldn't because Jason is a world class jerk. He doesn't even deserve the dignity of a name. We should just call him something else." Rory waited for any response from Lorelai.

"Scum-sucker Fathead?" Lorelai offered. Rory smiled.

"Scum-sucker Fathead it is. Anyway, none of that was your fault. I was completely wrong to bring it up. I just think it would be a really good idea to help Grandma. I will even help out. We could get the whole town to help out. We could do that for a fundraiser instead of Taylor's Bachelor auction." Rory shuddered at the thought.

"I think there are better causes than the Star's Hollow bridge for a bunch of society women to give money too. Like Somalia. I mean what is more important, our bridge or all of Somalia?" Rory looked at her skeptically.

"I don't think they could afford all of Somalia. Maybe a village or two." Rory was happy the fight was over, no matter how short it was. "But you'll help them with these village saving efforts?"

"If they can come up with a good cause, yes, I will help them." Lorelai agreed and looked up at Rory nervously. Rory kissed her cheek and hugged her.

"Can you believe them? Impoverished Artists?" Lorelai asked as they walked into the living room with their arms linked.


	11. Dennis and Ashton, Vivian and Shirley

Author's Note: See Title and Disclaimer in Chapter One. Not much to say. I didn't get many review after the last two chapters that need much responding, but Thank You to those who pointed me in the right direction with the characters' jobs. In case you were wondering, I am lightly following the storylines from Season 4, but only where it benefits this story, so if you seem some events but not others, that's why. The next chapter will be kind of short so it will probably be up later tonight. As always keep the reviews coming. Comments, Complaints, and Suggestions help out a lot. 

On with the story . . . 

Chapter 11: Dennis and Ashton, Vivian and Shirley

The next morning when Rory awoke all she heard was silence. The Gilmore house never buzzed with activity on the weekends, but she could usually hear people outside chatting, children playing or even Morry practicing next door. She and Lorelai had made up, but she still felt bad about the whole incident. She decided to sneak out and have coffee ready when her mother woke up.

As she neared Luke's, she could see it was busy and hoped that it meant the diner owner himself was back. When she came in, he smiled at her.

"Hey Rory."

"Hey Luke. Can I get a couple of coffees to go?" He reached under the counter for cups and filled them to the brim.

"Where's your mother?" he asked gruffly.

"Before noon on a Saturday? She's still in bed, where else?" 

"Of course. She hasn't been in much this week." Rory was always amused at Luke's behavior when he hadn't seen Lorelai for a while.

"She's been really busy with the inn and stuff. We'll probably be in for dinner later." Luke let out a breath, relaxing. He nodded, then realized that the conversation had stopped.

"So, how's school?" He hoped she didn't notice how nervous he was after their last conversation. She did, but she picked up his cue to leave it alone.

"Good. Hard, but good. How are things?" She hoped he would offer information but she wasn't going to ask. It was his business.

"Things?" he said suspiciously.

"Stuff. Life." She paused and he arched an eyebrow at her. "Around Star's Hollow" she added. His face relaxed when he realized she wasn't going to push it like her mother would.

"Good, it's good," he said. "Same loons, different day."

"That's good," Rory laughed. "Well I guess I better get going. Glad everything's . . . good. See you later Luke." Luke rolled his eyes.

"Bye Rory."

************ *

When Rory walked into the house, she heard movement and sensed Lorelai might be up.

"Hey" she called.

"Hey. Were you learning to problem-solve even when you were a baby?" Lorelai hollered from the living room.

"What?" Rory asked taking off her coat.

"Well babyhood is more recent for you than for me." Lorelai explained as Rory walked into the living room. Lorelai was stretched out on the couch reading a book. She sat up and sat cross-legged so Rory could sit next to her. 

"What is that?" Rory asked handing her one of the cups of coffee.

"365 Games Babies Play" Lorelai explained, holding it up.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" 

"Only if you're little brother's name will be Jesus."

"You're not a virgin."

"Rub it in, why don't you" Lorelai said pretending to be offended. "It's Sookie's. She left it here the last time her and Davy were over. Listen to this." Lorelai read from the book. "Look before you leap into solving baby's dilemmas and identify what baby is trying to do. Support and encourage baby's effort. One situation might be that baby crawls under a coffee table and starts to cry. Instead of running over and pulling baby out, involve baby by lying down on the floor and talking about the situation, saying 'I see you're stuck under there.' Yeah right" she said with a snort.

"I see you have a stinky diaper," Rory cooed.

"I see you are choking on a cheerio," Lorelai added.

"Mom!" Rory said shocked.

"Hey, it happens," Lorelai shrugged. "Aren't you glad I didn't read when you were a baby?" 

"Ecstatic" Rory dead panned. She thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you ever think about it?"

"No, I didn't have much time to read when you were a baby" Lorelai said absently, looking through the book again.

"I meant, do you ever think about having more kids?"

"I'm not that fond of goats" Lorelai said with mock seriousness.

"Mom" Rory groaned. Lorelai laughed.

"I don't know Rory. Why this sudden talk of babies?"

"You're the one reading the baby book" Rory said nonchalantly.

"It's Sookie's and babies are a little premature, don't you think?"

"Motherhood will come naturally. You don't have to worry," Rory pretended to reassure her.

"I meant, there are a lot of things that would have to come before another baby."

"Such as . . . "

"Oh I don't know. A husband might be nice. Might speed up the process," Lorelai said sarcastically.

"So someday when you settle down you might think about it?"

"I'm not settled down?" Lorelai asked. 

"There's nothing wrong with it. You're just not ready" Rory amended.

"I have a daughter in college," Lorelai said skeptically.

"I'm an exception."

"You think I'm still sowing some wild oats?" Lorelai questioned.

"I wouldn't have put it that way, but sure."

"You think I'm too old, my biological clock is ticking in your body," Lorelai moaned dramatically.

"That's because it knows you're never on time for anything. You were the one reading the book," she argued again. "I was just wondering if you thought about it. It wouldn't bother me, you know," she offered.

"Aww, Rory want a little sibling to grow up just like her?" Lorelai asked in a baby voice.

"Only if they cover half of the asylum payments when you finally get put away."

"Very funny." Rory gave her a stern look. "Fine. I think about it, I guess. Only if I catch the perfect man first." She smiled. Rory looked amused.

"Who is the perfect man?"

"Dennis Quaid." 

"Mom" Rory laughed.

"Fine. You want someone hipper? I could go for Ashton Kutcher, but I don't think I'm old enough. What kind of question is that anyway? If I knew who he was, I wouldn't be wasting my time with Scum-sucker fatheads." Rory was glad Lorelai was able to joke about Jason.

"I mean what do you think he'll be like?" she asked.

"Dreamy." Lorelai said in a high voice. "And I'll have his cigar and slippers ready every night and stand around in my pearls and then we'll both go to sleep in our single beds. That's a good way to have kids."

"It was a serious question" Rory pouted.

"I'm sorry, honey. It just sounded like a line out of a musical. I was expecting to burst into song."

"At least Vivian Blaine and Shirley Jones knew what they wanted." Rory said stubbornly.

"They both ended up with liars" Lorelai pointed out.

"Not a good example I guess."

"You're right. Hey let's have a movie night. I have an urge to rent Guys and Dolls, The Music Man, and Baby's Day Out."

"Baby's Day Out?"

"I miss cute drooling babies now. Besides that red head from Sex and the City is the shy little British nanny. We can mock her." 

"Well as fun as that sounds, I can't. I have plans with Lane. Her band has some big gig tonight and we have to plan Lane's escape."

"Fine, start a serious conversation, then leave" pouted Lorelai.

"It'll give you time to think and we can analyze it all tomorrow."

"Fine" Lorelai refused to give up her pout. Rory kissed her cheek and she softened.

"See ya later" Rory called from the door.

"Bye kiddo." 

And with that, Lorelai was left with a baby book and her own mixed up thoughts.


	12. Dresses and the DAR

Author's Note: See Title and Disclaimer in Chapter One. Sorry this chapter is so short. I didn't get very many reviews and this is sort of a filler chapter anyway. It's just to get from one place to another. I was going to put it at the end of the last chapter but that one got pretty long, so this is a baby-chapter. Anyway, no more teasing. The next two chapters are guaranteed to be long and filled with Lorelai/ Luke goodness. On a personal opinion note, I am so happy that ASP seems to be adding more Lorelai and Luke sweetness again. I missed the cute little moments and I really don't like Nicole. Even though the previews are more exciting than the moments turn out to be, Luke looks really good in the one for next week. Ok, weird rant over. Keep the reviews coming. I have resorted to begging for them.

P.S. Any suggestions for a good charity (real or made up) are welcome. I can't decide.

On with the story . . . 

Chapter 12: Dresses and the DAR

Lorelai's thoughts were intruded on by a ringing phone. She glared at it for interrupting her and decided not to answer just to spite it. The answering machine kicked on.

"You've reached Lorelai. I'm off like a prom dress. Leave a message. BEEP!"

"Lorelai Gilmore! What kind of thing is that to leave on an answering machine?" Emily's voice blared from the speaker. Lorelai leapt at the phone.

"Mom! It's me. I'm here," she said breathlessly.

"Will you ever grow up? What happens if someone hears that greeting?"

"Well, hopefully they'll leave a message."

"It's embarrassing."

"I'm good, mom. Thanks for asking. How are you?" Lorelai said with forced cheerfulness.

"Oh, I'm just fine" Emily said brusquely.

"That's good." Lorelai was unsure of her mother's reason for calling but she didn't want to be rude. She had promised Rory she would try. "So . . . um . . . what's up?" She could almost hear her mother roll her eyes.

"I'm calling to speak to you about the fundraiser for the DAR. I've called them all and gotten them to agree to a new charity but even after brainstorming, we are having some difficulties thinking of one."

"Well, you've had an eventful morning."

"Yes, Lorelai, will you help us?" Lorelai took a deep breath and thought of Rory.

"Yes" she said barely above a whisper.

"Excuse me?" Lorelai could just picture the grin on Emily's face.

"Yes, I will help you."

"That's wonderful. We will have to come up with a charity of course but more importantly, we have certain expectations for the event."

"Expectations?" Lorelai asked warily.

"Yes. We would like dinner, dancing, and some form of entertainment."

"That's more important than the actual charity?"

"Well, of course we want to raise money, but that doesn't take much to plan."

"Right" Lorelai said chuckling to herself. Her mother could still amaze her with her different world view. 

"Any ideas?" Lorelai thought for a moment.

"We could hold the event in the town square. Dancing won't be a problem. I'll have to see what I can do about entertainment. Maybe you could work on the charity thing?"

"I already told you we can't think of one." Lorelai sighed. Of course, Emily would make this difficult.

"Ok. I'll get Rory to do a little research. Maybe she can come up with a good one."

"That's sounds good."

"I'm going to get started so I'll talk to you later."

"Shouldn't we meet to plan more?" Emily said stalling.

"Um . . . sure. I'll call you later and we'll set that up. Bye!" Lorelai said quickly, hanging up before her mother could respond.


	13. The Hero

Author's Note: See Disclaimer and Title in Chapter One. Ok, surprisingly I am really happy that I got some reviews that were less than thrilled. I mean, I don't like frustrating people, but at least it means you care or you wouldn't take the time to review. Anyway, I want to say that I am not trying to stall or frustrate anyone. I promise. I have had the rest of the story planned out for a couple of weeks now. I know pretty much everything that will happen in every chapter, except for a few details but the main events are all there. It is taking a long time because once I get to writing, my chapters seem really long, with too much going on so I break them up. I am doing it again with this chapter. I meant for more to happen with Rory and Lorelai at the end but it ran long so it will be in the next chapter, so I am a liar and the next chapter will not be Luke and Lorelai. That will be pushed back a chapter. Sorry, I am long-winded but fret not. There is lots of Luke and Lorelai goodness in this chapter. So much that I had to break up chapters for it. Let me know what you think and remember, I mean for them to be moving slowly.

P.S. I can't remember who suggested it, but I have a couple of movie nights already planned. Just have to pick the movies.

On with the story . . . 

Chapter 13: The Hero

A few days later, Luke was talking to Kirk inside Miss Patty's dance studio when he saw Lorelai walk in. She stopped just inside the door and looked around. She looked a little lost so Luke crossed the room.

"Lorelai? You ok?" He asked a little worried.

"Yeah, I just can't find a place to sit," she said sounding distressed.

"Lorelai, there are six people here. There's plenty of seats."

"Yeah, but I always get here late, then I have a very limited choice of seats. I can't deal with the pressure of this many choices." Luke realized it was better to accept this insane logic than to argue.

"Ok. You can either sit 3rd from the end over there, in that back corner or the middle of that row over there" Luke said pointing out each one. Lorelai looked at him amazed and threw her arms around him.

"My hero!" she exclaimed in a high voice. The few people in the room turned around to see what the commotion was and chuckled when they saw it was Lorelai and Luke. They were used to her antics, especially when it came to him.

"Lorelai!" Luke said through gritted teeth. "You're making a scene!" Lorelai laughed.

"Sit with me and Rory?"

"I thought she would be at Yale on a week night."

"She is." When Luke looked confused, she whipped out her cell phone and dialed. Lorelai chatted away to Rory as she and Luke took their seats. When they sat down, Lorelai turned and pushed the phone at Luke.

"Rory wants to talk to you." Luke looked scared for a minute then slowly took the phone from Lorelai. As Luke caught up on a few things with Rory, Lorelai sat back and watched him. She loved the way he spoke to Rory. Stern but tender, his face softening just enough to be noticeable. She was still lost in thought when she realized Luke was holding the phone out and staring at her. She smiled bashfully and took the phone back. She let Rory know the meeting was about to start and set the phone down on the empty seat next to her. Luke gave her a dirty look.

"You're going to take up a whole seat?"

"It's for Rory."

"What if someone comes in and they can't find a seat?"

"Then they'll just have to stand. They should've gotten here on time," she said smirking. She loved bugging Luke. He shook his head, but Taylor pounded his gavel to get everyone's attention, so Luke couldn't argue.

Lorelai usually enjoyed the town's craziness but she found she was having trouble concentrating on Taylor's opening announcements. She was more focused on Luke's arm brushing against hers. She tried to ignore it. She had sat by Luke thousands of times. Why was she noticing his arm so much now? Noticing how much warmth he gave off. Noticing how soft his flannel was. Luke chose that moment to shift in his seat, as if he could somehow hear her thoughts. He had shifted slightly toward her, so now his side was completely against hers.

At the same moment, Luke was having his own thoughts. He had sat next to Lorelai thousands of times and the feel of her arm brushing against his still made his temperature rise. He shifted in an attempt to concentrate on Taylor's babbling but he only succeeded in moving closer to her. He wanted more than anything to look at her. She was more beautiful than ever up close, but he knew his glance wouldn't go unnoticed.

About that time, Taylor pounded his gavel again. The townspeople had become bored with his announcements and had begun whispering to one another. 

"People we have very important issues to discuss," he was saying. Everyone looked at him skeptically. He pressed on anyway. "The Stars Hollow Business Association and the Stars Hollow Tourist Board have had a meeting of the minds, so-to-speak . . . "

"A meeting of the minds? What did you do, Taylor, talk to a mirror?" Luke interrupted. His attention was finally diverted from Lorelai. He was wondering what scheme this kook had up his sleeve now.

"We had a meeting of the minds," Taylor continued, ignoring him. "And we have decided that in order to boost tourism and our town's image the town's eateries need to be better mandated." Luke groaned and Lorelai could sense him tense up. She snuck a glance at him and noticed his jaw was clenched. His very strong jaw. She looked away before he noticed and listened as Taylor continued.

"I-- We think it would be beneficial for a few new regulations to be placed in order."

"Regulations?" Pete called warily.

"Yes, Three actually. First, we think it would be a good reflection on the town if all eateries were to institute uniforms for all employees and owners." Luke was so tense that Lorelai could feel the muscles in his arms tightening. She had never realized how nice his muscles were under all that flannel. She felt slightly naughty that she was thinking this way about her best friend. Here he was, ready to explode, and she was enjoying the feeling of her arm being pressed against his. Luke, however, was solely focused on Taylor. He didn't give the old man a chance to suggest the last two new rules. Lorelai flinched when he jumped up and began yelling.

"Taylor, give it up. This is aimed at me and you know it. I won't bend to what you think are good ideas for the diner. Forget it. No uniforms, no decorations, no cute animals on the menus."

"Now Luke . . . " Taylor started.

"No!" Luke growled. "I own the building so what I say goes in my diner. You had better back off or I will make up some new rules for The Soda Shoppe, which is in my building." With that, he climbed over Lorelai and stormed out of the studio. Lorelai jumped up, grabbed her cell phone and ran out after him. On the other end of the line, Rory was listening intently. 

Luke hurried into the diner. He wanted to slam the door, but he was sure Lorelai had followed him and left it open. Sure enough, a few seconds later Lorelai hurried in and slammed the door for him. He looked up at her and let his breath out in one large puff. She looked at him apologetically. He motioned for her to sit at the counter and turned toward the coffee machine. She sat and after he put a pot on he turned back around and stood at the counter leaning on his palms. He closed his eyes and cocked his head, stretching his neck. Lorelai could see how frustrated he was and placed a hand over one of his. He opened his eyes and looked down at her. She squeezed his hand and they both smiled. They stared at each other for a minute before they heard a tiny voice yelling "Hey!"

Luke frowned at Lorelai in confusion until she yelled.

"Rory! Oh, I forgot." She picked up the phone. "Hey babe. I'm so sorry." Luke looked for a moment like he was going to remind her of the cell phone rule but she made a face and he stopped. Lorelai listened to Rory for a moment. "Ok, as soon as we hang up." She rolled her eyes and got up. Luke watched her curiously as she walked around to his side of the counter. "Rory says she misses you" she told him. He nodded and she said "This is from Rory" before she threw her arms around him. He was getting used to her doing that and knew right away this time to hug her back. He was surprised, however, when she didn't let go. Instead she spoke to Rory again. "Ok, hug in process." Lorelai listened for a moment, leaning against Luke.

Luke didn't really care if she talked to Rory all night like this. Lorelai was warm and her face was soft against his. Her hair smelled like strawberries and it was tickling his nose in a very good way. Rory asked to talk to Luke and Lorelai held the phone to his ear. She realized how much she liked this too. She felt more of the arms she had been marveling at and this time it was Lorelai who wondered why their bodies fit together so well. Between her shock that they were so comfortable like this and her adoration of Luke and Rory's relationship, Lorelai was a jumble of emotions.

"Thanks, Rory. I do feel better. Yep, here's your mom again." They both pulled back and Luke handed Lorelai the cell phone. They smiled at one another and Lorelai walked back around the counter.

"We need some mother-daughter bonding" she whispered to Luke, pulling her coat on. He nodded and handed her a cup of coffee. Their hands lingered briefly and they both smiled. She walked to the door and balanced her phone on her shoulder. As she backed out the door, she gave a little wave. Luke sighed heavily. That was an interesting night, he thought.


	14. What If?

Author's Note: See Disclaimer and Title in Chapter One. Ok, here is what I had planned on adding to the last chapter. It's kind of short and ends in a weird place but not much more needs to be said before I go into the next chapter, which will be more Luke and Lorelai. YAY! I am going to update at least once more tonight. If anybody read Alone, another fic I wrote, you will recognize parts of this chapter. This was kind of a weird chapter to write so I hope they are all in character. Keep the reviews coming. I love them even if they are mad at me. And I blame Sway for sending me that review that made me want to quit the game I was playing and write four more chapters tonight. Really I love you, but you are detrimental to my laziness.

On with the story . . . 

Chapter 14: What If?

Lorelai continued her conversation with Rory as she walked home.

"Do you think Luke will be all right?" Rory asked.

"Sure, he'll be fine," Lorelai assured her. "He is used to Taylor pissing him off."

"I hope so."

"He will. It's a good thing he has us to cheer him up. What would he do without us?" Lorelai teased.

"What would we do without him?" Rory asked seriously.

"Die of starvation, probably."

"Really, Mom. What would you do if he left Star's Hollow?" Rory had promised Luke she wouldn't tell her mother, but she hadn't said she wouldn't pose it as a hypothetical question.

"Why would he leave?" Lorelai couldn't see it happening.

"He does have a wife, you know. Maybe someday they will live together and I don't think his office-apartment is a good place for a family."

"Good point, but why wouldn't they buy a house? Luke will never leave the diner." Lorelai was confident about that at least.

"I don't think Nicole would want to live in Star's Hollow." Rory said, trying her hardest to sound casual, as if the thought had just come to her.

"You're right. She doesn't seem the type." Rory could hear the disdain in her mother's voice. Lorelai was always very protective of the town, but this sounded like a little bit more than that. Lorelai wasn't suspicious so far, so Rory decided to push it a bit further.

"What would you do if Luke left? I mean, we always thought he would be there for us forever, but it's possible he might not be." She paused for a moment, before adding, "I don't want Luke to move." Lorelai could hear real sadness in Rory's voice and wondered where it was coming from.

"Honey, I don't think anyone would want Luke to move, but luckily, that's not happening." She realized she was trying to reassure Rory and herself.

"Yet" Rory finished for her. "Make him stay" she blurted out after a few seconds of silence.

"What?" Lorelai was taken aback. Rory had abandoned her original plan of getting Lorelai to realize on her own that she didn't want him to leave. Rory realized how much she wanted Luke there and knew if anyone could get him to stay it would be Lorelai. She thought about how she should be mature and let Luke make decisions himself and stay out of it, but she didn't feel like being an adult about this. She wanted him there, always and forever, and didn't care how selfish that made her.

"Make him stay" she repeated. "He will listen to you. Tell him, if she ever asks, to say no. Tell him we need him." She was getting worked up now. Lorelai hated to hear Rory upset, but she couldn't deny that she was getting upset too.

"Honey, we can live without Luke" she said softly.

"Can we?" Rory asked. "I mean, yeah, we physically can, but do we want to? I don't. Do you?" There was a heavy silence on the phone. Rory knew she had finally broken through Lorelai's strong denial.

"I don't know" she said softly. "I would have to think about it." Rory took this as a good sign. Everything that ever meant anything to Lorelai had required lots of thought. As impulsive as her mother could be, she could be just as cautious. 

"You have lots of thinking to do lately. Perfect guy and Luke? Maybe it could be the same thing?" she said teasingly.

"Rory Gilmore. You had better not be suggesting what I think you're suggesting" Lorelai warned. Rory held back a chuckle. She had pushed a little too far. She backtracked quickly.

"Of course not, I just meant, kill two birds with one stone. Purely for your convenience."

"Right" Lorelai said sarcastically. Rory laughed.

"Goodnight, Mom."

"Goodnight, honey."

Lorelai hung up the phone, already lost in thought. She knew Rory was mostly teasing about Luke being her perfect guy, but there was a hint of seriousness there. The whole town had been hinting for years. More than that, Lorelai was thinking about Luke moving.

She thought about what it would be like if he left. She didn't have many memories that didn't include him in one way or another. She realized she had taken for granted, his always being there. She thought about the little jokes, the silly conversations that never meant anything. But, somehow, they meant so much. She thought about the lengths he would go to, to cheer her up, to fix things for her. She thought about all the sweet things he did, without realizing that he was being sweet. 

She remembered the conversation about always having each other. About being in each other's lives permanently. But what if he wasn't? What if she couldn't see him and talk to him whenever she wanted. She couldn't imagine what would have happened if any one of the times she had called him, he hadn't been there. She had other people, but none of them could give her exactly what Luke could. How had she never realized that before now?

She knew she was selfish for even thinking these things. What if he did leave? It would be his choice, wouldn't it? It wasn't really any of her business. But it was. She knew she had never asked his permission for any of her life decisions, but now that she thought about it, if he had told her not to do something important, she would have had reservations at least. If she had thought about moving and he told her not to, she would probably stay. Easy to say, when she never planned on leaving. 

She figured, she was just upset, because she was tired. She climbed her stairs and flopped onto her bed, not even bothering to change her clothes. As exhausted as she was, she still slept fitfully that night.


	15. Declarations, Decisions, and Dates

Author's Note: See Disclaimer and Title in Chapter One. Yay! This chapter had lots of stuff going on and I didn't have to break it up. More Luke and Lorelai action for you. If anyone lives in Connecticut, ignore any inaccuracies in my locations. I just used a map and picked a spot. I get the reviews emailed to me so I read them right away but here are some replies to a few specific ones. Thank you to everyone who suggested charities. They were all really helpful. Thank you to Copperboom for the Books for Africa suggestion. I picked it because not only is it something Rory would suggest but it is pretty self-explanatory. Also, to SilverTree for not only a really eloquent review but a suggestion for a charity that I might just steal and use in the sequel. Thank you to everyone who assured me that it is okay to go slow with the relationship, allowing me to keep writing long chapters and take the time to say what needs to be said, and thank you to all the people who are getting frustrated, inspiring me to write faster. I'm going to do both, because I myself am getting antsy. Hopefully this will satisfy your craving for at least a bit. Til tomorrow.

On with the story . . . 

Chapter 15: Declarations, Decisions, and Dates

The next morning, at 8:00 a.m., Luke watched Lorelai stumble into the diner. She was wearing the same clothes as the night before and her hair was sticking up at odd angles. She looked as if she hadn't slept at all. She headed straight for the counter and ignored his bewildered look.

"Don't leave" she said bluntly.

"What?" he said, confused.

"Don't leave Star's Hollow" she said simply.

"Rory promised she wouldn't say anything!" Luke slammed his fist down on the counter.

"Wait, what? Rory wouldn't say what?" It was Lorelai's turn to be confused.

"She promised she wouldn't tell you that Nicole asked me to move to Litchfield. A promise she obviously broke." He didn't sound angry anymore, just disappointed.

"She didn't tell me that, Luke" Lorelai said softly. "I mean we were talking about it, but just hypothetically. We don't want you to move. I don't want you to move." She couldn't bear to look at him. She blamed her lack of sleep for her blurting in the first place, but now that she knew he had actually been asked, she felt awful.

"Why?" His voice was quiet but not angry. He, however, couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"We need you. I need you." Her voice broke and Luke knew how vulnerable she was feeling. He couldn't stop the smile that spread over his face. Lorelai looked up cautiously and noticed the smile. She mistook the happiness for a smug grin.

"You need us too," she said stubbornly. "You will be lost without us" she pouted.

"That won't happen" he said. Lorelai's mouth dropped open in shock. He laughed and her forehead furrowed in anger. 

"No, Lorelai. I mean, that won't happen because I'm not moving." He stared at her, waiting anxiously for her reaction. It was confused.

"What?"

"Nicole asked me and I realized I didn't want to. This marriage was never going anywhere. We broke up." Relief washed over Lorelai's face and Luke's heart warmed slightly. Lorelai's expression quickly turned to one of annoyance.

"You made me say all that and you were never moving?"

"Nope" he said, a smirk spreading on his face. He turned quickly to hide it, but Lorelai caught it. She huffed loudly.

"And Rory knew? How did Rory know? When was I going to know?"

"Rory only knew that Nicole asked me. And you know now. I only decided this weekend."

"Is Rory psychic?"

"I called her." Luke groaned. He knew she wouldn't drop this. She motioned fanatically for him to explain. "I wanted another perspective" he went on. He refused to admit that he needed advice. "I couldn't talk to you about it, so I asked Rory" he finished quickly.

"Why couldn't you talk to me about it?" Lorelai asked, sounding hurt.

"I needed to make this decision without you." When Lorelai still looked confused, he added, "For Nicole's sake." It was Luke's turn to feel vulnerable and Lorelai finally let it drop. 

"Okay. What other secrets are you and my daughter keeping from me?" she asked playfully to let him know everything was all right. 

"Well, next week we are planning on having you committed" he dead panned.

"So, is that where you were last Friday? Checking out asylums?" She was teasing him, but not knowing where he was had been bothering her and she didn't know why.

"No, I was up at my cabin. I was doing some thinking." His tone had turned quiet and serious. Lorelai attempted to steer the conversation on a happier path.

"I didn't know you had a cabin. Where is it?"

"It's near Wethersfield. On the river. I just go there when I need to get away. It's just a little log cabin. No electricity even, but it's quiet and peaceful." Luke spoke like it was a place he really loved, and Lorelai was found herself enchanted.

"That sounds great. I wish I had an escape like that." Luke smiled one of his genuine smiles. Lorelai had seen so few of those that she felt incredibly special to receive one. While they had been chatting, Luke had placed a plate of fries in front of Lorelai and now noticed that she hadn't even touched them. He started to take them away and she slapped her hand down onto the plate.

"Don't even think about, buster" she warned. He grabbed a fry from her plate and popped it in his mouth. He didn't normally eat that type of stuff, but one was worth it to annoy her.

"Hey! Gross Luke! Now it's like I will be eating fries with everyone you have ever eaten fries with" she said with mock disgust.

"It's gross for me. I have only ever eaten fries with you but who knows where you have been," he teased back.

"Aww!" Lorelai cooed. "I was your first? I'm touched." Luke rolled his eyes while she giggled and munched happily. Her cell phone rang and Luke gave her a dirty look. She saw it was her mother and smiled.

"Hello? Hi, mom. I can't talk. I'm at Luke's and he has this crazy rule about cell phones. I will call you back later." Lorelai couldn't believe her luck when her mother agreed without argument. She was back to eating her fries, with Luke watching her, amused, when the diner phone rang a few minutes later.

"Luke's. Sure hold on. It's for you" Luke said, holding the phone out to Lorelai. Lorelai frowned and took the phone.

"Hello?"

"Lorelai?"

"Mom?"

"Yes, it's me."

"How did you get this number?"

"Rory gave it to me" Emily said simply.

"When?"

"Just now."

"You called Rory just now and asked her for the number to Luke's?" Emily never ceased to amaze Lorelai. 

"Well I had to talk to you somehow. Who knows when you would get around to calling me back." Emily sounded annoyed as usual, but also a little hurt.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I have been working on the fundraiser stuff though."

"Really?"

"Don't sound so surprised, Mom. Sookie will do the cooking, of course. Michel wants to do place settings. Apparently, he has been taking a class. I didn't ask. We can use waiters from the inn and Jackson will be the M.C."

"Jackson?"

"Sookie's husband. He was Squire Bracebridge, remember?" 

"Ah, yes. He did a wonderful job."

"Yes, he did. That's all done. I'm talking to some people about entertainment, but I will know soon. Come up with a charity yet?"

"Rory seems to think this 'Books for Africa' is a good idea."

"That sounds like her." Lorelai smiled at the thought of her daughter. "I think it's a good idea too."

"That's settled then. I will call the DAR today."

"Sounds good. I think it's pretty much under control. We can talk more at dinner on Friday."

"Thank you, Lorelai" Emily said sincerely.

"Bye, Mom."

Lorelai handed Luke the phone to hang up. That was the first completely pleasant conversation she'd had with her mother in awhile. 

"Sounds like you got it all worked out." Luke said.

"Not quite." Lorelai looked at Luke nervously.

"Oh, no. What?" Luke recognized that look. It meant she wanted him to do something. Every time she suckered him into it.

"It's nothing really" she said coyly. He looked at her skeptically. "We just want to use your kitchen. Sookie has to cook a lot and the kitchen isn't quite ready at the inn and . . . "

"Fine"

"What?" Luke never gave in that easily.

"I said fine. I understand. I trust Sookie" he said. Lorelai made a face. "That's all you need me to do?"

"I swear on my life."

"Don't. I don't want to replace a burned stool when you are struck down." Lorelai again made a face and this time Luke smirked. 

Luke left the counter to refill coffee around the diner. Lorelai watched him. She thought that he had to be upset about the breakup. He seemed all right though. She ignored the relief that Nicole was gone nagging at her. She thought she should do something for Luke, just in case he was upset and just didn't want to show it. He had done a lot for her after all.

"Hey Luke, you busy Saturday?" she asked him when he returned.

"Working" he replied absently.

"Can you get out of it?"

"Why?" he asked cautiously. She probably just wanted him to come over and fix something.

"Well, I thought we could have a movie night. The last one was fun and I haven't had one in a while." She looked at him expectantly. He pretended to think about it. "Oh, Luke. Just say yes already. You know I will make you anyway."

"Fine. Sure."

"Great. You'll bring food?"

"Would I make it out alive if I didn't?"

"Not likely. Well I have to go call a certain daughter and discuss some things. I will see you later."

"Yep. Bye Lorelai."

"Bye Luke."


	16. Baby Bonding

Author's Note: See Disclaimer and Title in Chapter One. Well the Java Junkie fever has gotten me too. I didn't intend this chapter to have any Lorelai and Luke action. I originally wanted Lorelai and Sookie to have some time to talk because Sookie is her best friend and I haven't written her yet, but then it ran away with me and I had to throw some in there. I found out writing Sookie doesn't come as naturally as the others yet, so you might not see her a lot. I'm still trying to hold back my true JJ-ness in order to keep them in character to let me know right away if anything is OOC. I guess I don't have much to say this time, except that I am almost at 100 reviews and I am very excited. Read, enjoy, review. 

On with the story....

Chapter 16: Baby Bonding

After leaving the diner, Lorelai headed for Sookie's house. She knocked lightly and soon a haggard looking woman answered the door.

"Wow, Lucy! Little Ricky giving you some problems?" Lorelai asked hugging her friend.

"Remind me why reproducing is a good thing." She sounded hoarse. 

"Tax write-off" Lorelai said matter-of-factly. "Are you okay, honey? That little bundle of skin giving you problems?" Poor Sookie looked like she hadn't slept in weeks. Her hair was pulled back haphazardly and held in place with pencils all over. The bags under her eyes were the prominent feature on her face and her clothes smelled like a mixture of diaper cream and formula.

"Colic. I think. Maybe he just hates me." Sookie was too tired to even sound depressed.

"Oh honey, he doesn't hate you. Lots of babies go through bad periods. It will get better."

"Did Rory?"

"No, I think I cried more when Rory was a baby than she did. Maybe she can give you some pointers." Sookie managed a small smile. "I do have one tip though."

"Anything" Sookie said desperately.

"Take a shower. Babies like the smell of mommy and right now that is all blocked out."

"Oh!" Sookie pretended to be offended. "You don't look so hot either."

"Bad night." Sookie raised her eyebrows. Lorelai waved her off. "I will tell you later. First, go take a long bath. I will take care of Davie for as long as you need."

"Really?" Sookie asked as if Lorelai had just offered her a million dollars.

"Yep. Now scoot." Sookie felt energized for the first time since she had the baby and shot off up the stairs. Lorelai settled on the couch to watch tv. Right away she heard fussing on the baby monitor. Soon, she was feeding Davie in a carrier in the kitchen. That reminded her that Sookie probably hadn't eaten a good meal in days. Rory was grown now, but Lorelai remembered the exhaustive days like they were yesterday. She grabbed the phone and dialed.

Sookie was still in the bath when the doorbell rang. Lorelai ran to the door. Just as she opened it, a loud wail was heard from the kitchen.

"What is that?" Luke hollered.

"It's a baby, Luke, duh. I just got him to sleep too." Lorelai gave him a scolding look.

"Oh. Well, here's your food. I will just let you get back to that." Luke backed up slowly, but Lorelai grabbed his shirt.

"No way, Jose. You are not leaving me with this. You started him up and you are going to help." She pulled him by the wrist into the kitchen with her. Usually, Luke would follow her wherever she dragged him, but this was one time he sincerely didn't want to go. It wasn't that he really hated babies. He hated things about them. There was always something coming out of them and you never knew what would set them off. He didn't really mind the idea of babies, but in all actuality, they scared the living hell out of him. 

Lorelai scooped Davie up and began to lightly bounce him in her arms and shush him. Luke stood amazed as Lorelai sang a little made-up song and Davie quickly quieted. Luke knew she was good with kids, but he had never seen Rory as a baby so this was all new to him. For some reason, unknown to him, he found this situation an okay kind of uncomfortable. It was just like all the other times that Lorelai dragged him somewhere. He wasn't in his element, but he didn't want to run either. He heard the bathtub drain upstairs and began unpacking the food.

"Here. Can you hold him for a minute?" Lorelai asked walking toward him. Luke tried to back away but the wall was behind him and he had nowhere to go. "He won't bite, Luke. He doesn't have teeth yet." Luke still looked scared and Lorelai rolled her eyes. "He's asleep. All you have to do is not drop him. I need to take Sookie some food. I will be right back." He shrugged helplessly. Lorelai smiled and instructed him how to hold the baby. Handing Davie over took a few minutes because Luke couldn't get the position right. Lorelai assumed it was because he was nervous, but really Luke was distracted because Lorelai's face was only inches from his. Davie was between them and their bodies were against his sides. Lorelai was bent over adjusting Luke's arms. She was close enough that Luke could see every lash around her blue eyes as she looked from him to the baby. She whispered and Luke began reading her lips but soon found himself staring at the fullness of them.

Lorelai also found herself affected by this position. She could feel Luke's breath on her cheek as she bent over Davie. She looked up and started to say something but stopped when she looked into Luke's eyes. She had never seen them that close and she smiled as she stared into the deep pools.

"Looks like you've got it" she said backing up. Being that close to Luke was making her lightheaded and she wasn't sure why. She blamed this too, on her lack of sleep. The sight of the usually gruff Luke holding a tiny baby was amusing, but unbelievably sweet at the same time. She turned and ran the food up the stairs.

Sookie was sitting on her bed in a robe when Lorelai walked in. She was carrying a tray of food and her face looked flushed.

"I brought you something to eat" Lorelai said without looking at her.

"Are you all right?" Sookie asked. Lorelai nodded. "Where's Davie?"

"Luke's holding him while I bring this up." Sookie smiled. Someday they would figure it out. She knew pushing Lorelai only made her deny it more, but she enjoyed watching the two together.

"What's he doing here?" she asked casually.

"I ordered some food for you." Sookie nodded, still smiling. "I had better go relieve him. I'll put Davie in his room and come back. We have lots of talking to do." Sookie clapped her hands together excitedly and Lorelai rushed back downstairs.

Luke handed Davie over much faster this time. Lorelai's closeness was still lingering with him and the less time he spent in that situation again, the faster the thoughts would go away. The last thing he needed was to spend more time thinking about her. He knew his mind would be racing at the movie night. The more time he spent calm before then, the better.

Lorelai walked Luke to the door, leaned in and whispered "Goodbye" in Luke's ear. Part of her loved to tease him but now a bigger part liked leaning in close to him just as much. She hurried upstairs. She and Sookie had some major analyzing to do. 


	17. Status Report

Author's Note: See Disclaimer and Title in Chapter One. Sorry for the long wait everyone. I needed this chapter in order to explain a few things but I didn't have any real events for it so I got major writer's block and had some problems. I finally got a light bulb tonight so here it is. Let me know if it sucks and I can totally re-write it. The title works on two levels. It has to do with Lorelai and Rory's conversation, but it's also what this chapter is for the story. I wanted to let everyone know where we are on some things. Sorry, if this chapter's sub-par and sorry for the long wait. I am totally impatient when it comes to other people's stories so I understand how my not updating is. Anyway, next chapter will be the movie night. It will also be really long, so hopefully you will forgive me. 

On with the story...

Chapter 17: Status Report

As soon as Lorelai got home, she dialed Rory. She had just talked to her daughter the night before but so much had happened since then. Lorelai danced around impatiently as she waited for Rory to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Rory?" Lorelai said out of breath

"Who else would be answering my phone?" Rory asked sarcastically.

"Right okay." Lorelai rushed on. "You busy? Because I have so much to tell you."

"Nope, I'm all ears." 

"Okay, Status Report first" Lorelai stalled. She knew Rory would want to know about movie night but Lorelai wasn't ready to deal with Rory's insinuations. Rory took a deep breath

"Paris has been studying all week. She hasn't gone out once and she turned her cell phone off so the phone in our room has been ringing off the hook, but the person always hangs up" Rory said with disgust.

"Ugh. He calls your room now?" Lorelai said. She could imagine the awkwardness for Rory knowing exactly who was calling.

"Unless I have a raspy-breathed stalker" she sighed. "Anyway, since Paris is around all the time, she has noticed Janet's new hobby so there was a lot of yelling yesterday. Now they are making Lane run back and forth delivering insults." Lorelai remembered Lane had been staying with Rory since she had been kicked out. She worried about her, but Lane was a tough kid.

"How's Lane doing?" she asked.

"Okay, I think." Rory sounded worried too. "I know she misses her mom, but she has taken over mom-status here."

"That's good, I guess. At least she has you." Lorelai said comforting herself and Rory.

"Yeah, and I have her," Rory said with affection. "I am trying to get her to drop Paris and Janet's fight and look out for Tana. She forgets what day it is, and this is the second week in a row that she has gone to her class a night early. She sits there for an hour waiting for people to show up, then calls and asks us to check the calendar." Rory said exasperated.

"How does she survive on her own?" Lorelai wondered at the odd girl.

"I think there are men with white coats involved" Rory surmised. "Your turn." she said wondering what Lorelai had to tell her. Lorelai was still turning over thoughts in her head. She was quiet for a minute.

"Okay, well Michel is handling reservations now that we have a phone at the inn." she finally said. Rory was confused but went along with it. "So far I have only had minor complaints but Sookie is having problems with Davie so she can't help out at all."

"Oh no" Rory moaned forgetting Lorelai's strange evasiveness.

"It's just a little colic, but she is dealing with it all by herself, so she is starting to channel Tana" Lorelai said sadly.

"Where's Jackson?"

"He bought a greenhouse somewhere and he is always there. He said it's top secret produce stuff but I think he going all mad scientist. Controlling the weather and such" Lorelai said conspiratorially. 

"Well be nice so we can have good weather for the fundraiser," Rory warned. "Speaking of which, how's that going?"

"I wasn't done with my status report" Lorelai pouted.

"Sorry, please continue." 

"Hmm what else? Oh! Morey and Babette got a new kitten and it has gotten loose all over town so now Taylor wants to institute an animal limit on the town, even thought Babette and Morey are the only ones it will affect. He plans to bring it up at the next town meeting. It'll be a good show. I will be bringing popcorn" Lorelai rambled quickly. Rory could tell she was avoiding something. 

"I'm sure. Anything else?" she pressed.

"Nope, I think that's it" she said casually. Rory gave up. She knew her mother would tell her when she was ready.

"Ok, back to the fundraiser" she sighed.

"Kirk is begging me to be the entertainment" Lorelai laughed.

"Oh god" Rory said horrified. 

"I told him he would have to go through auditions so that he would give up, but then he passed a sign-up sheet around the town so auditions are next Tuesday" Lorelai moaned. Rory laughed.

"Tape them please."

"I wouldn't dare not to." Lorelai paused for a minute. "Hey, here's a funny question."

"Shoot." Rory hoped Lorelai would be getting to the real reason she called.

"You wouldn't have happened to know about Nicole asking Luke to move in?" Crap, Rory thought.

"I might've" she said guiltily.

"And you didn't tell me because?"

"I promised him" she said. She knew it was thin. The only part she had left out was knowing for sure.

"You might as well have come out and told me. All that crap last night about you needing him" Lorelai said, annoyed. She wasn't sure why she was annoyed but she didn't like that Luke hadn't told her. She knew she probably couldn't have helped because she didn't like Nicole but she liked when Luke told her things. He didn't share things with other people and it made her feel special.

"That wasn't crap" Rory yelped. "I do need him" she said stubbornly. "I just wanted you to think about it. I knew you wouldn't let him move" she said haughtily.

"And what makes you think that?" Lorelai argued.

"Because you and Luke are . . . You and Luke." Rory said softly. "It's just how it is. You can't have one without the other." She wasn't arguing anymore, but she sounded upset.

"I thought that was cookies and milk?" Lorelai joked.

"Mom! You always deny it, but I know you know that you can't be without him. I'll bet you went first thing this morning and told him not to move." Rory sounded smug again.

"I did not! Besides, he and Nicole broke up."

"They did?" It was Rory's turn to feel unknowing.

"Yep, Miss Patty heard and hung around the diner all day watching him" Lorelai said suggestively. 

"How's Luke?" Rory asked.

"He's fine, he instituted that 'Look, Don't touch' policy on her a long time ago" Lorelai joked. When Rory didn't say anything, she assured her, "Really, he's good."

"How are you?"

"I'll be fine. Nicole and Luke worked out a custody schedule for me. I will visit her every other weekend." Lorelai said sarcastically. 

"You're relieved." Rory sounded much like Emily, when she told Lorelai how Luke looked at her.

"I am not."

"You're positively jumping up and down" Rory teased.

"I don't think she was right for Luke" Lorelai said defensively. 

"Uh-huh." 

"I don't like where this conversation is going. What about you and your guy?"

"My guy?" Rory asked, confused.

"The date with the naked guy." Lorelai reminded.

"Marty" Rory corrected. "And it was fine. He took me out for ice cream."

"Good man" Lorelai said impressed. "Second date?"

"Looks like it. Nothing set yet." There was a hint of excitement in Rory's voice. Lorelai was happy for Rory. She told herself it would be wrong to bother Rory with her semi-guy problems, when she was just starting to get back into dating.

"Good. Get any action?" she cracked.

"Mom!"

"I meant, did he kiss you?"

"A little one. It was nice." Lorelai could hear Rory's smile in her voice.

"Good." 

"So anything else?" Rory tried once more. Lorelai was quiet for a long moment.

"Nothing that I can think of" she finally sighed.

"Okay" Rory said slowly. "Well I have to study. I will see you on Friday."

"Friday" Lorelai repeated.

"I love you, Mom" Rory said sincerely.

"Love you too. Bye, honey."

As Lorelai hung up, she and Sookie's conversation was wringing in her ears. She had fully planned to tell Rory about her plans with Luke but after talking to Sookie, she thought better of it. She had told Sookie quick versions of the weeks past events. She explained that she was having some weird feelings about Luke, but hadn't delved into them. She wasn't sure she was ready to share them. She wanted to have time to analyze them herself before she asked for others' opinions. Normally, she would spill everything right away. Her and Sookie and Rory would talk for hours about the tiniest remark. But Lorelai didn't want to do that this time. She wasn't sure there was anything anyway, but what was there was good. Definitely good. She wanted to savor it a little. 

She had told Sookie about Nicole and the upcoming movie night, however. At first, Sookie had made a big deal out of it. From Rory's recent comments, Lorelai fully expected her to react similarly. After Sookie had calmed down, she told Lorelai what she thought of the situation based of the few details Lorelai gave her. Sookie told her, that the timing was perfect. Both Lorelai and Luke were now single and neither were very broken up about it. They were getting along better than ever and with Rory and Jess gone, both had a lot of free time. Lorelai couldn't argue with her there. Lorelai had mused every once in a while about her and Luke. She had entertained the idea but never considered it seriously, because there was always something in the way. Now there wasn't really any reason to hold back. Lorelai always worried about the friendship but Sookie convinced her that it would be a stronger relationship because they were best friends. She told Lorelai not to worry about 'what ifs' and just to go with how she felt in the moment. She also pointed out how many times he had taken care of Lorelai in the past. More than any boyfriend would, and how great his relationship with Rory was. Lorelai had to admit, she had been thinking about those things recently herself. She left Sookie's still unsure of her feelings and the future but a lot more confident that everything would work out all right. She decided to not tell Rory just yet, but couldn't help but look forward to tomorrow night.


	18. Movie Night

Author's Note: See Disclaimer and Title in Chapter One. Hey all, hope you forgive me for the lack of updates for a few days. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it. Let me know what you think. I don't want to make it too fluffy and OOC but I tried to get a good amount. Please let me know. I am suffering review withdrawal. A few little personal things here. I am a vegetarian and to anyone who likes tofu, more power to you, but I hate it. :P Also I don't know how Lorelai of movies the ones that I picked are but I like them so, yeah. Also, somebody start writing fics about this week's episode because the end with L/L was so sweet I almost died. Anyway, enough rambling.

On with the story . . . 

Chapter 18: Movie Night

Saturday night, just before eight, Lorelai stopped rushing around the house to look in the mirror. She didn't know why she was so anxious. Luke had been to her house lots of times. He saw her every day. She had promised herself that she would take Sookie's advice. She wouldn't analyze everything. She would just have fun and go with what she felt. But right now, she felt nervous. She looked around the living room once more. She hadn't been cleaning as often now that Rory was gone, but this afternoon she had spent an hour hiding every indication of her usual sloppiness. She had spent another hour deciding what to wear. She wanted to look good, but casual. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to impress Luke, but she knew that she definitely wanted to catch his attention. There was a knock at the door and Lorelai looked in the mirror once more before answering it.

There was Luke, right on time. He looked good, Lorelai thought. He wore his usual jeans and T-shirt, but without the flannel and baseball cap. Lorelai noticed how his muscles showed in the shirt. They were well defined, but not too large. She thought they fit Luke perfectly. Strong, but not showy. She was also glad that he didn't wear a baseball cap. He had great hair and she liked it when he showed it off.

As Luke stood at the door waiting for Lorelai to answer, he ran his fingers through his hair. Something seemed different between him and Lorelai the last few weeks. Tonight seemed special, though he didn't know why. He had decided to stray from his usual uniform, but kept enough that he didn't feel completely out of place. When Lorelai opened the door, he was glad he had put some thought into how he looked. Lorelai looked great. He always thought she looked good, but tonight she seemed to glow. She wore tight, low-cut jeans and a curve-hugging T-shirt with a logo on it. He didn't read the logo because he knew he wouldn't be able to only glance at that region. Her hair was wavy tonight. It was naturally curly, but she had been growing it out and he thought it looked nice on her. She had a strange smile on her face. One he wasn't familiar with. He would say it almost looked nervous, but he had never known Lorelai to be nervous in a situation like this.

After a moment of checking each other out, they both remembered that they didn't usually do that and nervously looked around.

"Come on in. Is that for me?" Lorelai asked, eyeing the bag in his hands.

"It's for us" he corrected. "I brought some stuff from the diner."

"Great. Set it on the coffee table with the rest." She smiled and walked into the kitchen.

"Jesus, Lorelai" Luke said when he saw the table filled with boxes and bags of food. "I said I would bring food." Lorelai walked back out and handed him a beer. She gave him a look as if he was nuts.

"Honey, what you bring wouldn't last ten minutes into the movie." He looked at her for a second then nodded accepting it. Lorelai looked over the full table and snatched a bowl off of it. "Look Luke. I got you Tofu Garlic Dip for your chips. Aren't I thoughtful?" she said proudly.

"I am not eating that," Luke said, making a face. Lorelai looked hurt, but Luke continued. "I eat healthily but even I have standards. Tofu is not meant for human consumption." He made another face and Lorelai giggled. She turned her head and rolled her eyes at her own giddiness while Luke rummaged through the bag he brought. He set a take-out container next to him on the couch while Lorelai went to get the movies.

"You ready?" she asked walking back into the living room. 

"What did you get?" Luke asked warily. He knew when it came to Lorelai's decisions, he was never safe. She gave another proud smile.

"Well I figured since we both just broke up with people, that would be our theme for the night." At the mention of the break up, Luke flinched a little. The last thing he wanted to think about was either of their exes. He was ready to move on. Lorelai pretended not to notice. She thought maybe she had hit a nerve with Luke. She ignored the pang she felt at the thought that Luke might not be as over Nicole as he said he was. She looked at him questioningly.

"Again I repeat, what did you get?" Lorelai looked down at the movies in her hands and decided to push through anyway. One small bump in the evening was all right.

"Um, Someone Like You, Love and Sex, and The Way We Were" she said gesturing to Luke to begin the rant she was sure was coming. Luke hadn't really heard of the first two and he was sure that if Lorelai picked them, they were sure to embarrass him, but he knew there was no use arguing.

"You got three movies?" he asked. Lorelai looked surprised for a moment but ignored his unusual agreeability. 

"Well, I figured you wouldn't watch The Way We Were so I planned on continuing the party by myself later." Luke raised his eyebrows at her, but the look was lost on her because she had turned her back to stick the tape in. Luke took the opportunity to be a typical man and check her out from behind. He jumped when she turned around and stood up. Lorelai had caught the look of concentration on his face but decided he couldn't have been doing what she thought he was doing. She walked over to the couch and sat down on Luke's left. He was in the middle of the couch and Lorelai sat facing him. She laid her legs over him so her calves were resting on his lap. She quickly grabbed the remote to start the movie and avoid looking at him. She hoped he wouldn't make a big deal out of it. They had been a lot closer lately anyway.

Luke frowned at her for a split second when she took her position, but decided not to question it and just enjoy it. He handed her the container from the diner with her burger in it and looked around the room. He noticed a stack of boxes in one corner.

"What's all that?" he asked gesturing. Lorelai stopped fast forwarding and let the previews play.

"What? Oh, that's Lane's. She staying with Rory but her stuff is staying here." Luke looked at it for a moment longer.

"Oh. Any idea when she's coming back?" he asked. Lorelai was confused until she remembered that Lane had worked for Luke. She looked at Luke apologetically.

"Missing her at the diner?"

"It's okay." Luke shook his head. "We survived before her. It was just nice to have someone helping out. Less stressful is all." They were quiet for a minute watching the previews.

"Hire me" Lorelai said out of nowhere.

"What?" Luke asked her suspiciously.

"Hire me. I helped out before. I did okay." She sounded excited. That was always a warning sign for Luke.

"You want to work at the diner?" he asked skeptically.

"Sure. It'll be fun. Besides, I can use the money." Luke wasn't sure about the fun part, but he knew she could probably use the money with all the stuff going on at the inn. Luke considered it for a minute. He wasn't sure if it would be a dream or a nightmare, but he couldn't say no to the look on her face.

"I suppose. If you promise to be good." Lorelai ignored the last comments and gave him a huge smile. After that they both settled in to watch the movie. 

Lorelai had put Love and Sex in the VCR first. He wasn't sure it was the sort of movie he pictured her liking but he was enjoying it at least. It was funny and not too mushy. At least this time Lorelai didn't seem to be watching his reaction the entire time so he was able to watch it comfortably. 

Lorelai was enjoying the movie too. She had seen it many times before but a quarter of the way through Luke had begun running his fingers over her calves. She snuck a glance at him and he was enraptured in the movie so she didn't think he realized he was doing it. She was enjoying it all the same. His touch was light and it tickled, but his fingertips were warm and she enjoyed the comfortable contact. She didn't dare look at him, for fear that if he stopped paying attention to the movie he would realize what he was doing. She didn't even move, in case the shift would catch his attention. 

Halfway into the movie, Luke did realize what he was doing, but since Lorelai didn't seem to mind, he didn't stop. The awareness of her legs on his lap, in his hands was with him the whole movie. At one point, as he reached to place his beer bottle back on the table, his arm brushed her toes. They were cold, so he grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and spread it over her legs and his lap. He tucked it in around her feet and rubbed her legs a little harder as if he were trying to warm them up. Lorelai looked over at him, but just smiled and went back to the movie, praying he wouldn't stop. Luke smiled to himself too. He liked how comfortable he felt, here, touching her. She seemed fine with it too.

Both groaned inwardly when the movie ended. Luke carried some empty snack containers to the trash while Lorelai switched the movies. Luke settled back into the same spot hoping Lorelai would too. Her previous position against the arm rest had hurt her back however, so she sat next to him facing the tv. She slouched down and put her feet up on the table. Luke did too, shifting in his seat. He shifted casually toward her until they were as close as they had been at the town meeting. He noticed her grin out of the corner of his eye and smiled to himself. After the movie started, Lorelai grabbed the blanket and spread it over the two of them. Both were careful to stare at the movie the whole time, not acknowledging what was going on. Luke laid his arm across the back of the couch. Twenty minutes later, Lorelai went to lay her head against the back of the couch and instead landed on Luke's arm. She hadn't intended to do that, but he didn't jump or make any movement really, so she left it there. A little while later she leaned further against him and her head ended up in the crook of his shoulder. After a few minutes Luke let him arm slip down onto her shoulder. After that, both stayed as motionless as possible. 

Luke couldn't believe the situation he was in. Lorelai's warm body was leaning fully against him. He could feel the goose bumps on her upper arm just below her sleeve. His nostrils were again filled with the scent of her hair. Her right elbow rested lightly on his thigh and he prayed that she didn't move it any further into his lap. He was a guy after all. The effect of the movies and present company was not lost on him. He realized that as nervous as he was at the situation, he was just as comfortable with the affection of it all. He could do this every night for the rest of his life.

Lorelai was pretty comfortable herself. She felt like she fit perfectly against Luke. His arm felt nice and warm on her shoulders and his fingers were remarkably soft against her arm. The sensation gave her goose bumps. Her head was leaned against the side of his chest and not only could she feel the hard muscles there, but she could hear his heartbeat and her head rose with his breathing. He smelled like soap and shaving cream and she found the smell intoxicating. She never wanted to move again. Soon, however the comfort overcame the two and they drifted off to sleep.

Luke woke the next morning under a blanket that smelled like Lorelai. He realized he was on her couch. He must have fallen asleep during the second movie. He vaguely remembered nice dreams. Kissing was in there somewhere, but the details were fading fast. He wondered where Lorelai was, but a look at his watch told him he was already late to open the diner. He left Lorelai a thank you note and ran out.

Lorelai's awakening was much less peaceful. She had gone to bed late, after she and Luke had fallen asleep and now her telephone was ringing loudly on her bedside table. She looked at her clock and grumbled at being called before her alarm had gone off.

"Hello" she said groggily.

"Lorelai!" came a deep growl.

"God?" she asked jokingly.

"What did you do?" Luke asked angrily.

"What are you talking about?" Lorelai feigned innocence.

"I suppose it wasn't you who put the lipstick prints all over my face after I fell asleep." Lorelai giggled at the memory. She had woken up after the second movie finished and decided to teach Luke a lesson for falling asleep during their movie nights. It had taken her an hour to cover his face with prints, because her kisses had to be light so as not to wake him.

"I will never trust you again," he growled. He was actually more angry at himself that she has kissed him no less than 15 times and he had slept through all of it. 

"That's your fault, for trusting me in the first place" she scolded. Luke sighed loudly and hung up. Lorelai laughed again and climbed out of bed to get ready.

  
  



	19. Diner Lingo

Author's Note: See the Title and Disclaimer in Chapter One. I'm not sure if it's because I haven't updated in a while, but I haven't gotten any reviews in awhile so I hope people are still reading. I was having some personal problems the last few days, but I am starting to get back into the swing of writing. I will still finish this story, but if everyone's lost interest, I probably won't write the sequel. Let me know what you think. If this sucks let me know and I will try to fix it. The long hiatus sort of screwed with my characterization. Also, I am trying something with the asterisks denoting time passing, so that's new but not really important. 

On with the story . . . 

Chapter 19: Diner Lingo

"Hey Diner Man!" Lorelai called, walking into the diner, bright and early, Monday morning. "I'm ready to start my career as a soup jockey." 

"Wow, I didn't expect to see you so early" Luke said. 

"I said I'd help open and this is when the diner opens" she explained, taking off her coat. Luke shrugged.

"I just thought that it might be a bit ambitious of you . . . What are you wearing?" Luke yelled, shocked. Lorelai looked down at the blue tee shirt she was wearing. In large letters it said "Chubby's Sports Bar and Grill, Where the beers are cold and the jugs are big." She smiled proudly.

"Isn't it great?! Oh wait!" she exclaimed, turning around and moving her hair to show Luke the back. His eyes grew as big as saucers.

"Everyone Scores!?! You can't wear that!" he yelled.

"Why not?" Lorelai asked innocently.

"Because it says . . . it sounds like . . . " he searched, flustered. The look on her face told him she had gotten the reaction she was hoping for. "Just wipe down the tables," he growled. Lorelai laughed and Luke threw his rag at her. She looked out the window and saw people approaching. She began wiping a table down as slow as humanly possible. The second the door knob turned she yelped, "Ooh customer! I'll get this one." Luke just shook his head and walked into the kitchen. He watched her through the window as she smiled and chatted with the customer. He could see why the inn did so well. Soon she was done and talking to Luke through the opening.

"Luke, I need you to fry a crowd, let the sun shine and put a zeppelin in the alley" she said with a heavy Boston accent. He remembered the last time she had helped at the diner and her penchant for diner slang. The customers had loved it, but he could never understand her. 

"What?" he asked, trying to sound annoyed. Lorelai sighed and looked at him witheringly.

"Three eggs, sunny side up, and a side of sausage."

It's going to be a long day, Luke thought.

************

By lunchtime, the diner was packed. Word had gotten around that Lorelai was working there again and everyone came to enjoy the atmosphere she created. Luke had resigned himself to the kitchen partly because he didn't trust Lorelai at the grill and partly because she was so happy to chat and serve people. Everyone liked Luke, but Lorelai danced from table to table like a butterfly. There was a tremendous wait for food, with the diner being packed, but no one complained. Lorelai had convinced tables to join together to make room and a few people were even sitting outside on the sidewalk. Everyone was simply mesmerized. 

"What can I get you?" Lorelai asked a customer, smiling.

"Can I have a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup?"

"One jack with a splash of red noise coming up." The customer smiled and the people around him nodded. The town troubadour sat at a table nearby, writing down the names Lorelai gave to each of their orders. He was planning on writing a song about it. Lorelai was just headed back to the counter when Sookie rushed in.

"Do you have any Evaporated Milk? I can't find any anywhere." Sookie was out of breath and sounded desperate.

"Canned cow."

"What?" Now Sookie was confused.

"Diner slang" Lorelai explained. Sookie nodded.

"Bugging Luke?" Sookie asked knowingly. Lorelai frowned.

"He is remarkably patient today" she complained.

"Well you tried" Sookie comforted. Lorelai nodded.

"Yeah, why the sudden search for evaporated milk?"

"Jackson's mother is coming to visit. She loved this dinner that I made last time and it calls for evaporated milk." Sookie sighed heavily. 

"Honey, I'm sure she'd love anything you make." Sookie shook her head sadly.

"She's really critical and with all this stuff at the inn and with Davie just born, she thinks I'm doing too much and I need every brownie point I can get." Lorelai rubbed Sookie's shoulder and led her to a chair.

"I'll go check for you."

***********

By the time dinner time rolled around, the diner was slowing down. Most of the town had come by earlier in the day. Only a few people were left now. Luke watched intently as Lorelai came back from the store room and approached a customer.

"Hello, what will it be?" she said brightly. The customer took a deep breath.

"One cheeseburger, raw on the inside, crispy on the outside. With extra ketchup and no lettuce" he said slowly as if he was trying to remember. Lorelai looked at him suspiciously.

"Anything to drink?"

"Water, no ice"

"Ok" she said and walked up to a smug looking Luke at the counter.

"What's that one?" he asked grinning. Lorelai smiled.

"A Pittsburgh with wax, paint it red and keep off the grass. And Adam's ale, hold the hail" she rattled off crossing her arms over her chest. Luke's face fell faster than she had ever seen. He grunted loudly and stormed into the kitchen.

"I still get it free Luke!" the customer called.

A few minutes later, Luke came out from the kitchen and started to hand Lorelai the plate with the cheeseburger on it. 

"Oh no" she said. "You tried to stump me and you lost big time. Plus, since it's on the house, there's no tip. You get to deliver it, big boy." With that she wound up the rag and shot it at him. It hit him squarely in the middle of the butt. He jumped and looked at her with more shock than anger. Lorelai laughed and shooed him away.

***********

Just before closing, Luke was cleaning tables while tried to rearrange various things on the counter, when Kirk walked in. Luke looked at Lorelai and scowled. She nodded, understanding.

"Hey Kirk. What can I get you?" she asked when he approached the counter.

"How's the pie today?" he asked. 

"The pie's great!" Lorelai replied.

"I'll take a banana shake with whole cherries in the bottom." Lorelai looked confused. Luke wiping a nearby table, just cringed.

"Are you sure you don't want pie?" Lorelai suggested.

"No just the shake."

"Okay, that's a . . . " Lorelai said slowly, wrinkling her forehead in thought.

"Pick something else, Kirk" Luke growled. 

"What? I wanted the shake" Kirk whined.

"Something else, or you don't eat." Luke gave Kirk the look he always gave him to shut him up.

"Apple pie with ice cream and a cup of coffee with milk" Kirk said, glancing at Luke. "Uh, make that to go and skip the milk" he added quickly. Lorelai smiled, happy that she knew this one and amused at Kirk's fear of Luke.

"Eve with a hat on it and one cup of mud, no cow, on wheels" she sang.

After Kirk left, Luke locked the door and turned the sign to "Closed"

"We did pretty well," Lorelai said happily. "I didn't see you get a chance to eat tonight. Want me to make you some boiled leaves and cow feed?" Luke gave her an irritated look. "Tea and a salad" she corrected. He shook his head. "Okay, want to make me a Dagwood Special, heavy on the maiden's delight?" He stood staring at her, not moving. "Banana split with extra cherries." 

Luke nodded and headed behind the counter, while Lorelai poured herself a cup of coffee and took her usual spot on a stool at the counter. Luke came back, handed her the ice cream, and stood looking at her quizzically. 

"What?" Lorelai asked, uncomfortable with his stare. He looked at her for another moment.

"Eggs" he said. Lorelai smiled.

"Cackle fruit" she responded.

"Butter"

"Cow Paste"

"Toast"

"White or Rye?"

"Rye"

"Whiskey Down"

"A hamburger"

"Hockey puck"

"French fries"

"Frog sticks"

"Fine you win" Luke finally said, defeated. Lorelai clapped and bounced in her seat.

"Yay! What do I get?"

"You get to collect the salt and pepper shakers . . . "

"Mike and Ikes"

"and the ketchup . . . "

"Hemorrhage"

"and the mustard"

"Mississippi Mud"

"Just do it" said Luke, exasperated.

After Lorelai had collected everything off the tables and put up all the chairs she began to move things off the counter. Luke stopped sweeping and walked up.

"What are you doing?"

"Moving things off the counter"

"I see that. Why?"

"Well after a hard days work, and my prize being more work, I think a round of bagel hockey is in order." Luke began to argue so Lorelai grabbed a bagel and licked it.

"We can use this one" she said innocently.

"Fine. One Round."

The next half hour was spent mostly attempting to hit each other with the bagel, rather than make a goal with it. Lorelai did a little dance every time she hit Luke. He enjoyed that and didn't block the bagel a few times that he could have. He got her back plenty however, hitting her once in the hip and once in the stomach. The game ended when the bagel hit her in the chest and broke apart, sending crumbs down the front of her shirt.

"I call this game on account of the deterioration of the puck" she said glumly. 

"You played good" Luke said gamely, shaking her hand. He laughed as Lorelai tried to shake crumbs out of her bra without shaking other things. She caught him staring and he quickly turned and walked to the kitchen. 

"Now what?" Lorelai asked following him.

"Now I get to load the dishwasher" Luke answered.

"Ooh, the bubble dancer" she said excitedly. Luke shook his head.

"Go home, Lorelai" he said. 

"Do I get to keep the job?" she asked, misunderstanding his tone.

"You worked hard. It was a good day" he reassured her. "You can come back, if you leave right now." Lorelai jumped up and down and hugged him.

"Night, you big softie" she said before running out.

As Luke finished closing up, he thought about how good the day had been. It was fun working with Lorelai. As busy as they had been, the day went unbelievably fast for Luke. None of his dates had ever been as much fun as work was today. Lorelai made even the mundane fun. Sure, her crazy nicknames had driven him nuts, but he loved the way she exasperated him. It was part of who she was. Clever and witty. He hadn't even minded her towel-snapping him. He was already plotting to try it on her tomorrow. She was bringing something strange out in him.

Lorelai was lost in thought on her walk home. Today had been so much fun, she was still smiling. She always liked work anyway, but this was different somehow. She had loved seeing Sookie every day and bugging Michel, but she was surprised how different seeing Luke all day was. She realized she had never spent that amount of time with him before. It hadn't seemed like sixteen hours. She had worked at the diner before. It was a blast then too, but the day had caught up with her. She smiled at the thought that it had only taken Luke a few hours to give up arguing with her all together and to even play back with her. She made a goal to bring that time down the more they worked together. She was still smiling when she approached her house and saw the small figure on her porch.


	20. Confessions

Author's Note: See Disclaimer and Title in Chapter One. Hey guys. Thanks for all the great reviews. I got so many! Maybe I should take forever to update all the time. Just kidding, but really, those were some great reviews. Thank you to Angy for all her great reviews. I love to hear people's opinions. Sorry, this isn't a Luke and Lorelai chapter but don't worry. We're getting there. Obviously, from here on out a lot of it will be Luke and Lorelai because I think I have about 12 more chapters planned after this one. This is just a short chapter to further things along. Thanks to everyone who keeps reassuring me that it's okay. I'm very paranoid about my writing and lately I have been worrying about my descriptiveness so let me know what you think about that. Also, I did come up with that whole chapter in the diner, but all the diner lingo was real. I found it at a website about diner culture. I didn't realize that there was such a thing, but you learn something new every day. Well I look forward to lots of reviews again (hint hint)

On with the story . . . 

Chapter 20: Confessions

"Lane?!?" The little dark-haired girl looked up. She looked worn and tired.

"Lorelai . . . hi" she said nervously.

"Honey, is everything okay? I thought you were at Yale with Rory?"

"I was, but a smart girl knows to leave before she's worn out her welcome." Lorelai could tell she was trying to be casual, but her voice shook.

"They kicked you out, huh?" Lorelai said sympathetically.

"I believe the words 'freeloader' and 'bum' were used."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"It's okay. Paris brings new meaning to the word 'crazy'. I mean I lived with Mama Kim and Paris still scared me." Lorelai smiled, glad the young girl still had her sense of humor.

"So what's the plan now?"

"Actually I was wondering . . . " Lane looked up at Lorelai hopefully.

"You can stay with me" Lorelai answered her. Lane looked relieved.

"Just until I can afford my own place." She promised quickly. Lorelai looked at her skeptically.

"Lane, I can't even afford my own place. You can stay as long as you need to, if you don't mind sharing Rory's bed until I can get Luke to help me fix up the junk room."

"Thank you so much." Lane hugged Lorelai tight. Lorelai felt so bad for her. Lane loved and missed her mother, but she just couldn't lie anymore.

"Anytime, honey" Lorelai said softly. She and lane pulled apart and stood awkwardly for a minute. "So, you hungry? After all that brainy food at Yale, you're probably in the mood for something greasy and covered in cheese, right?" Lane smiled.

"You actually have that?" she asked, surprised. Lorelai shook her head.

"No, but I knew I bought that phone for a reason."

Once the pizza arrived, both girls tore into it. Lorelai could tell just how much time Lane had been spending with Rory. Her appetite almost matched that of the Gilmore Girls. 

"So, what did I miss while I was gone?" Lane said between bites. Lorelai thought for a minute.

"Nothing and everything" she answered. Lane looked at her questioningly. "You've lived here long enough. You know Star's Hollow doesn't follow the laws of time. Wait long enough and the cycle starts all over again."

"Like Groundhog Day?"

"Exactly, but our characters are much less realistic." Lane laughed and Lorelai continued. "Same old, same old. Kirk had another crackpot idea, Sookie almost chopped her hand off cooking, Miss Patty sexually harassed a man."

"Taylor annoyed Luke" Lane added.

"Everyone annoys Luke."

"Not everyone" Lane said smiling. When Lorelai looked at her strangely, she quickly asked, "So where were you tonight?"

"Annoying Luke." Lorelai tried to hide a grin at the memory. Lane had seen it though. "I'm helping out at the diner" Lorelai said casually. Lane's expression turned to one of worry.

"Luke needs help?" She felt bad for leaving and not telling him.

"He'll be okay. He's got me." Lorelai thought Lane had enough to worry about, without feeling bad about Luke too. At Lorelai reassurance, Lane looked relieved and a little bit disappointed. "But it is a step down from his previous waitress." Lorelai admitted and Lane smiled. They finished their pizza and started cleaning up.

"Have you talked to your mother?" Lorelai asked, carrying her plate to the sink.

"Not yet. Do you think I should? I'm not so sure she wants to hear from me." Lane was turned away from her, throwing things away, but Lorelai could hear the sadness in her voice.

"I think she does" Lorelai said softly. She searched for a way to help the girl. "Look, I know what you're going through. What you want is the total opposite of what your parents want. You've tried so hard to be what they want, but no matter what you always disappoint them. There just comes a point where you can't keep trying to force a square peg into a round hole." Lane looked at Lorelai as if they were kindred spirits. Lorelai had been able to explain the feelings that Lane had always felt, but never been able to describe. Lorelai saw the look on Lane's face, but rushed on, because she knew she couldn't let her make this mistake. "From a mother's standpoint I know without a doubt that she absolutely wants to hear from you. From a daughter's position, I know how great it feels to finally be free. And although I don't regret getting myself out of that world, I can tell you that if you don't at least try to keep the lines of communication open . . . well, that you will regret." Lane nodded. She stared at her hands, lost in thought. Lorelai could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

"You regret not calling Emily?" Lane asked after awhile.

"Well, right now, talking to her is exhausting, but I think if I had tried harder back then, things might be different now." Lorelai had never admitted that to anyone. Not even really to herself. That scared her. "But if you share that with anyone, even Rory . . . especially Rory, I will give Emily a mute Korean maid for her next birthday." Lane's eyes widened and she nodded emphatically. Lorelai yawned. "It's late, so we should get some sleep. First thing in the morning, call your mom and tell her what's going on. Then we'll go for some maple syrup-covered therapy at Luke's." Lane smiled gratefully.

"Thanks" she said, hugging Lorelai again.

"Night." Lorelai watched Lane walk into Rory's room and shut the door. She was actually grateful to Lane for showing up unexpectedly. Now she was so exhausted that even her recent thoughts about Luke couldn't keep her awake.


	21. Pro and Con

Author's Note: This is just a small note to apologize to anyone who was offended by my comments about the reviews. Honestly, I get the reviews sent to my email so I never check the website for them. I really didn't get any for a few days and then today I got 52. All 52 were the same review. If my talking about reviews makes you want to stop reading, I'm very sorry. I value everyone's opinions VERY much and I just worry about people liking the story. Thank you to everyone who did review. I am going to keep checking the website from now on, and while I will still be reading them, I won't comment on them anymore. I realize that I am incredibly lucky to get so many reviews so I am not going to complain anymore. I am just going to love the ones I get. If you would like to talk to me about anything story-related or otherwise and would like me to reply, email me at FroggyChic84@aol.com

P.S. I rewrote portions of this chapter to beef the Pro and Con list up a bit. Hope you like it.

On with the story. . .

  
  


Chapter 21: Pro and Con

A few days later, Lorelai walked into the strangely quiet Melville home. She came into the living room to see Sookie and Michel sitting on the couch staring at a soundless television. They stared intently at it and occasionally their shoulders would bob with laughter, but still no sound. Lorelai stuck her finger in her ear and wiggled it.

"Have I gone deaf?" she shouted. Sookie and Michel jumped.

"Be quiet!" Michel hissed. "We just got zee be`be to sleep." Lorelai noticed his French accent got heavier, the angrier he was. 

"What are you doing here anyway?" Lorelai asked, taking a seat. "Aren't you supposed to be giving your mom a tour of the new inn?"

"What are you talking about?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"She called last week. She said she was coming to visit and she wanted a tour before it opened. I thought you were supposed to meet her an hour ago." Lorelai casually flipped through a magazine.

"She called?!? You never told me she called!" Michel's voice got louder and higher.

"Michel! Davie" Sookie scolded, nodding her head at the stairs.

"I swear I did" Lorelai said with wide-eyed innocence. "You'd better hurry."

"You are zee devil" Michel growled, before running out of the house. Both girls watched him leave and exchanged tense glances.

"That man is going to have a heart attack." Sookie shook her head. Lorelai's mouth spread into an evil grin.

"He will when he gets there and realizes the phone lines haven't been installed yet." Sookie's mouth dropped.

"You are the queen" she said bowing her head. Lorelai bowed hers back in response. "So how is everything, honey?" Sookie asked. "I haven't really gotten to talk you since our last little chat." Sookie raised her eyebrow and winked when she said the word "chat." Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"Sook, I haven't even had time to think about that." Sookie looked at her skeptically.

"Not even when you were working all day at the diner?" 

"Okay, fine. Maybe I have thought about it a little." She looked at Sookie sideways. "But everything is too hectic right now."

"No, it's not" Sookie said knowingly.

"What?"

"Good men creep into your thoughts regardless. It's what they do."

"I liked it better when you'd freak out and I'd fix you" Lorelai pouted. Sookie smiled.

"Yeah, yeah. So?"

"So what?"

"So what are your thoughts on Luke?"

"My thoughts on Luke" Lorelai said slowly, pondering. "I think it's really weird to talk about him like that." Sookie gave her a frustrated look. "Well, I wouldn't talk about you that way." Sookie laughed. 

"Okay, so let's not talk about him like a best friend. Let's talk about him like a man." Sookie took out a pad and pen.

"What are you doing?"

"What we normally do with any big decisions. We are making a pro and con list."

"Sookie . . . " Lorelai started to argue.

"No" she said sternly. "I know I said to go with what you feel and not overanalyze it but it's been over a week so now I think we should analyze a little." She held up her thumb and index finger, illustrating a small amount. "Okay, first. Looks?" Lorelai opened her mouth to pout, but Sookie looked at her firmly.

"Okay" Lorelai gave in. "He is good looking. He's got nice muscles, hidden under flannel. Nice hair, hidden under a hat." When Sookie looked at her annoyed, Lorelai giggled. "He's got a good arms and chest, pretty eyes, and a nice smile." Sookie smiled.

"I'll put that under pro."

"But he hides all of that under hair and clothes. Sometimes its fun to get dressed up and go out."

"But it's also good to feel comfortable, right?" Lorelai nodded. "Besides, he's dressed up before" Sookie added. Lorelai wrinkled her forehead in thought. "That's a pro then?" Sookie suggested.

"Yeah" Lorelai answered with a sheepish smile. Sookie smiled and went on. 

"Next, Career." Lorelai looked at her confusedly. "I know we know what it is, but do you consider that a pro or con?" Lorelai thought for a minute.

"Well, he supports himself pretty nicely. He understands hard work. Of course, he'll never leave that diner."

"That a pro right?" Sookie asked unsurely.

"That's definitely a pro. I hated it when Jason had to go on trips all the time. I never want to leave Star's Hollow" Sookie breathed a sigh of relief and wrote it down. She took a minute to look at Lorelai. She was lost in thought, but didn't seem unhappy about it. She seemed to be taking this seriously.

"Ok, next comes car, house . . . Can we skip all the other material things please?" Sookie asked. "We never use them in deciding anyway. It's more just for fun."

"Yeah" Lorelai agreed, still staring off. "That's not really Luke." Sookie nodded.

"Okay just the main four left. Family, personality, Rory and you." This was always the hardest part for Lorelai. She looked to Sookie to help. Sookie nodded, understanding. "Well he doesn't really have much family." She wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"Not anyone close anyway. There was Jess" Lorelai said frowning. Sookie got a worried looked on her face. "But I can't really hold that against him." Sookie's face eased. "And Liz" Sookie cringed again. "But she seemed nice, if not logical."

"Pro please?" Sookie begged. Lorelai nodded.

"Personality . . . " she said thinking. "He's pretty surly most of the time" Lorelai admitted, her forehead wrinkling. "But, he can be sweet, when it really counts." She smiled at the memory. Sookie noticed.

"It only really counts when it's you, honey" Sookie pointed out softly. Lorelai looked at her curiously. It was a look that said, she had never really thought of that before, but it wasn't a look of fear. Lorelai nodded.

"Rory and I are all that's left" she said.

"Do we really have to think about those?" Sookie asked doubtfully.

"No. You're right. Those are both pros." Sookie clapped her hands together. Lorelai knew what she was thinking. No cons. "He's not perfect" she growled. She hated all signs to point one way and still be unsure.

"Of course he's not." Sookie soothed. "No one is. But he is really good where it's important." She looked at Lorelai hopefully. 

"I know" she sighed, "but Luke isn't as simple as a list." Sookie nodded. "I just need to think a little bit. Let it run around in my brain for a bit." She sighed again, but the sides of her mouth twitched. 

"Of course, honey." Sookie only nodded, though inside, she was doing cartwheels. She didn't want Lorelai to worry about this too much, so she tried to change the subject. "So what's the status of the fundraiser?" Lorelai perked up, eager to talk about anything other than Luke right then.

"Well, Paris and Tana are going to handle babysitting during the event." Sookie looked frightened at the idea. "Alone, Paris would scare them and Tana would lose them, so Rory agreed to help" Lorelai assured her. "Other than that, Andrew is taking care of the stage, and Rory and I are handling decorations. Which reminds me, I have to pick her up in an hour so I'd better scoot." She bent down to hug Sookie.

"Bye hon." Sookie said as Lorelai walked away. She stopped and turned at the door.

"Sookie? Keep that list handy." Sookie just smiled to herself as the door closed.


	22. Plans

Author's Note: If you're reading this, it means I could finally log back into FF.net. Sorry updating took so long. I am not sure if anyone else could log in, but I couldn't. I don't have much to say but before you read this, go back and read Chapter 21 again, because I changed some of it. Not much else to say. Hope you enjoy this.

On with the story . . . 

Chapter 22: Plans

The next day, Luke came over to help Lorelai move Lane's stuff into the spare bedroom. She showed him what needed to be done and helped him put Lane's bed together. Then, she spent the afternoon lying on the bed, watching him drag all of the other furniture in.

"If you're not going to help, would you mind at least not staring at me while I do this?" Luke asked, glowering at her. Lorelai feigned insult.

"I'm not staring at you, Captain Conceited" she said haughtily. "I am planning out where all of Lane's stuff should go." Luke shot her a dark look. She rolled her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. She was lying upside down, on the bare mattress with her feet up on the headboard.

Luke rose from where he was kneeled across the room and walked slowly toward her. She heard his footsteps and watched him, silently. His eyes were dark and there was something in them she couldn't read. Anger, maybe? No, she had seen him angry. This was something she had never seen before. It was some sort of fire, that she was sure of. It felt like ages to her, before he reached where she was. He bent over her even more slowly, and placed his hands on either side of her body. His left was wedged between her arm and her side. His wrist, barely brushing her right breast. His right hand was down next to her left hip, his fingertips touching the bare skin above her jeans. His indescribable scent found her nostrils and she felt her skin warm. He lowered his face to just inches from hers, all the while his eyes locked on hers. She could feel his hot breath on her neck, and the skin there tingled. She was afraid to move, in case it was a dream. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and husky.

"Plan this" he said. She felt his hand move away from her waist. Before she even had the time to look confused, he dropped a large garbage bag full of Lane's clothes onto Lorelai's stomach. He stood up and casually walked back over to where he had been putting a desk together. Lorelai lay on the bed for a few seconds before sitting up, begging her pulse to return to normal. She was glad Luke's back was to her as she opened the bag. Her hands were very visibly shaking as she began to sort through the clothes. 

Luke was glad that Lorelai was oblivious much of the time, or else she would've noticed how flushed his cheeks were right now. He hadn't planned it when he walked over there. He had planned to hand her the bag and growl about her not helping. When he got over there and looked down at her something took over him. She was just laying there, looking up at him. Her dark curls were splayed out around her head, framing her face. If she had spoken, he probably would've woken from his trance, but she was silent. She didn't even move. Only her eyes followed him. After he got back across the room, he wondered why she hadn't moved. Why she had only looked at him that way. Her eyes seemed just deep and whirling as his had felt. Even now, across the room, his skin tingled from the brief contact. 

Both worked silently for the greater part of an hour. The silence was finally broken when Lorelai left the room and returned with a camera. She snapped a picture of the room with Luke kneeling in the dead center. 

"What was that for?" She knew he hated getting his picture taken.

"It's for Mrs. Kim. I'm going to send her pictures and let her know what's going on with Lane" she said as she made Lane's bed.

"They still on the outs?"

"I made Lane call her, but I think they spoke less than you and Jess used to. I just think I would want to know, if I were her." Luke didn't reply, but just watched Lorelai for a second. As childlike as Lorelai liked to act, she amazed Luke with her ability to know when to not. He could see why Rory turned out so great. Lorelai didn't mind people thinking that Rory was just great from the start, but Luke could tell that a great portion had come from Lorelai.

"So I guess the diner is running pretty smoothly, now that you have your favorite waitress back?" Lorelai said, still fluffing the pillows.

"I'm sorry about that, you know" Luke said.

"It's fine. I was only kidding. She needs the job more than I do anyway." Luke peered at her, scrutinizing her face. He wasn't so sure that Lorelai didn't need money more than Lane. He'd been running his own business for years and he had no idea how she was affording the renovations on the inn. Lorelai had turned around but she could still feel his eyes studying her.

"How's the inn coming?" he asked.

"It's good." He waited for her to continue but she didn't. That was when he knew it wasn't 'good.'

"You haven't been there much lately" he observed.

"Some of the work has been held up, so there was nothing going on to be there for" she said, avoiding his eyes.

"Why aren't they working?"

"Apparently sexual favors aren't enough these days."

"What?"

"I can't pay them right now." Her voice broke slightly and she turned away.

"Can I help?" he asked softly, walking over to her.

"No it's fine really. Just a minor setback. I'll figure something out real soon." She wiped her eyes quickly and turned around. Luke put a strong hand on her shoulder.

"Please let me help. I have the money."

"No, Luke. I can't. Sookie and I have to do this on our own." He could see in her eyes that she really meant it. She would never accept the money.

"Can I at least talk to the guys for you? Maybe I can work something out with them."

"I doubt you can think of anything I haven't already tried, but go ahead." She looked up at him and both smiled slightly.

"Ok, good. I think you can handle it from here." He gestured around the room. "I've got to run some errands. I'll see you later?"

"Of course." They smiled again and he headed for the door.

"Hey Lorelai?"

"Yeah?"

"You were kidding about the sexual favors, right?" Lorelai chuckled.

"What do you think?" He thought for a moment.

"I think so. I mean they would've at least lowered the price a little." Lorelai's mouth dropped open and Luke laughed at the sight. "Bye Lorelai."


	23. The Lap Dance Floor

Author's Note: See Title and Disclaimer in Chapter One. Hey Guys! I was going to make this chapter longer by putting this and the next chapter together, but I haven't posted in what feels like forever, so I was really proud of finally getting a chapter out. So I just ended where I planned originally. Sorry about that. But hey you've got a whole chapter to read, and I am going to try to have the next one up tomorrow night. Not much else to say, except that I'm extremely frustrated with the lack of new GG episodes. Darn that ASP and WB.

On with the Story . . . 

Chapter 23: The Lap Dance Floor

Wednesday afternoon, Lorelai walked into the diner. It was fairly full, but Lorelai didn't care.

"Luke" she hollered, not seeing him. At a table next to her, a startled Kirk was mopping up the water down that had spilled down his shirt and glaring at Lorelai. She ignored him and hollered again.

Luke, in the storage room, was looking for ketchup. He knew Lorelai would be in for lunch, since she hadn't been in for breakfast. She would have a hamburger and fries and cover it in ketchup. When he heard her yell the first time, he stuck the bottle in his back pocket and pulled his flannel down over it. Lorelai was in the middle of shrieking his name a second time when he walked out.

"What do you want, Lorelai?" he asked gruffly.

"Guess what just happened?" she said brightly.

"What?" Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"Guess." She commanded. "That's how the game works."

"I don't want to play any games. Just tell me" he said, exasperated.

"If you don't play, I will tell the whole diner . . . loudly . . . in my Louis Armstrong voice" she added when Luke looked bored. He glared for a moment, then looked around in thought.

"Um, You found out this season's color is pink and now you have to go shopping?" he guessed wildly. When Lorelai looked at him strangely, he added, "I watch TV."

"Well how very Queer Eye of you" she said, barely containing her laughter. "But no. What just happened is I went by the inn and . . . " She drummed her fingers on the counter. "They started working again!" she shouted throwing her arms in the air. Luke smiled genuinely.

"That's great."

"Yeah, you must be one hell of a talker," she said in awe. He shrugged his shoulders modestly. "They said I could pay them back whenever I'm able to. They wouldn't even let me set up a payment plan. They insisted, I take as much time as I needed" she squealed, clapping her hands together. Luke nodded his head, still smiling. It made his stomach flip-flop to see her so happy. 

Luke looked away for a second and Lorelai startled him by leaning over the counter and slugging his arm, hard.

"Luke!" she cried. His eyes widened and he looked at her, confused. "You paid them," she whined. Luke looked down, guiltily. He knew he couldn't lie to her. She crossed her arms and tried to fix an icy glare on him. She only half-succeeded. 

"You mad at me now?" he asked, trying to suppress a grin.

"No" she grumbled, dropping her arms in defeat. "But just for that, I get to set up a payment plan with you."

"No, Lorelai. I didn't want you to owe me. Tom was just going to give me the money as you paid him back." He shook his head furiously at her.

"Well too bad. Just for being so sneaky, you have to agree to it" she said triumphantly. He rolled his eyes, his signal that he was giving up the argument. Lorelai smiled, knowing she had won.

"Coffee?" he asked.

"Nope, tea today" she answered. When his jaw dropped, she laughed. "Come on, Luke" she said.

"Right" he grumbled and handed her, her usual mug. She moaned while she took her first sip. He hated when she did that. It made him think of her moaning at other things. He grabbed the rag off his shoulder and began wiping down the counter. "So how is everything else?" he asked, trying to clear the images in his head. "How's the fundraiser coming?" Lorelai perked at this. He knew any reason to chatter made her happy.

"Well I finally got Taylor to agree to let us use the streets for parking" she said conspiratorially. Luke was surprised.

"How did you manage that, without giving up your first born?"

"He didn't want Rory" she said dismissively. "He just wanted a lap dance." Lorelai watched the look on Luke's face with amusement. She could tell that he didn't want to believe her, but that when it came to Lorelai, he could never be sure. When she felt he had suffered long enough, she reached into her purse and shoved a piece of paper at him.

"What's this?"

"He agreed to let us park if I let him pass those out to the guests" she said. Luke read the flier aloud.

"For your next soiree hire Taylor Doose: Adornment Conductor" Luke said uncertainly.

"He's helping put up decorations." Lorelai explained.

"Auto-choreographer" Luke continued.

"He tells the valets where to park the cars." 

"Superintendent of Proscenium" Luke looked at her in disbelief.

"He gets to stand backstage and say 'go' to the performers."

"And Gala Ambassador."

"He's going to walk around and ask everyone how they're doing."

"Also, his assistant, Kirk Gleason: Illumination Manager" Luke finished.

"He gets to hold the spotlight." Lorelai said, laughing.

"You're going to let him pass these out?" Luke said incredulously. "Aren't these all society ladies?" Lorelai shrugged her shoulders.

"Either they'll think it's some quaint small-town thing, or they'll hate it, in which case Taylor will have to deal with my mother. Actually, I'm hoping it's the latter. I would love to see those two get into it." Lorelai grinned at the thought. Luke sighed at her usual glee in the torture of others.

"Sounds like you've got everything taken care of" he said suspiciously. He knew she wouldn't let him off that easily. He just wanted to know ahead of time what she was going to make him do. Her facial reaction told him immediately it was going to be something he wouldn't like.

"Well not everything" she said nonchalantly.

"Out with it" he commanded. Lorelai put on her innocent face, but Luke saw right through it. He looked at her sternly. Her face fell.

"Drats! Foiled again" she moaned, swinging her arm in defeat. He continued to stare her down and she finally relented. "Okay, I need you to build the dance floor."

"I can't build a dance floor!" he cried loudly.

"Why not?" Lorelai asked surprised.

"What makes you think I would even know where to begin?"

"You have tools" she said simply.

"It takes more than tools to build a dance floor" he said. Even though her naivete frustrated him, he still found it adorable.

"Like what?" she asked, still not understanding. "I'll get you wood and whatever else you need. Everything will be paid for." He could see he would never get through to her. He loved the way she was looking at him right now. It was as if she thought he could do anything, and couldn't understand why he wouldn't be able to. He couldn't bear to have her stop looking at him that way, at least when it came to this sort of thing. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll do my best" he mumbled. Lorelai beamed at him. He wasn't sure what he had gotten himself into, but he vowed to drive up to the home improvement store in Hartford, and not leave until he was a dance floor expert. Luke filled Lorelai's mug again and since she was already smiling brightly, she squealed. Luke frowned, disapprovingly, though inside he was grinning. "You going to eat?" he grumped at her.

"A burger with ketchup" she chirped. Luke turned around and Caesar handed him the burger he had started as soon as Lorelai had yelled. Luke set it in front of her smugly.

"What if today was the day, I decided a change was in order?" she asked challengingly.

"Well I didn't see pigs in the air, so I figured it was a safe bet." Luke answered. Lorelai frowned taking the top bun off of her burger.

"Where's the ketchup?"

"I'm out." Luke said nonchalantly.

"Liar" she said, squinting at him.

"Nope, we're really out" he said, shaking his head sympathetically. Lorelai stuck her bottom lip out, pouting. Luke shrugged his shoulders. She added puppy-dog eyes, and he shook his head. She started whimpering and whining like a dog. Luke reached in his back pocket and slammed the fresh bottle on the counter. "Here's your damn ketchup" he growled. She had won again.

"Ooh! Thank You!" she cooed and proceeded to cover her plate with red. Luke looked away in disgust and tried to change the subject.

"Lane has Friday night off" he declared.

"Yeah, Rory's coming to visit" Lorelai said, nodding. "She's on break from school and they are going to help set up for the fundraiser on Saturday." Luke bit his lip, trying to figure out how to lead the conversation where he wanted.

"That's good" he mumbled. "Except, that means the diner will be short one person." Lorelai looked up at him. "Fridays are always busy" he added quickly. Lorelai nodded and looked back down at her food. She munched on a fry for a few seconds before it dawned on her.

"I can help" she said a little louder than she meant to. Luke looked unsure. "One night, Luke! For old times sake?" She put her hands together, begging. Luke studied her for a minute, then nodded.

"All right" he agreed. Lorelai jumped up and did a little dance behind her stool. Luke grinned slyly, when she wasn't looking.


	24. The Long Day

Author's Note: Okay, quite a few things to say this time. First of all, sorry for the long, long, long delay in the updating. I got the flu and then other things came up and it was just a mess. But I'm back on track now. And you never have to worry about me giving up on this story. I will finish it, even if everyone hates it and no one reads it, which is thankfully not the case. 

Next, I am planning on the chapters in the sequel being sort of episodic, so of course they will be longer. So I am trying it out a little. This chapter is really the next 2 or 3 that I had planned put together. It literally took me all day to write and I was getting a little weary through the middle so if there's something I need to change or re-write, let me know. It is however longer than all the other chapters, so hopefully you'll forgive me for the long hiatus.

Lastly, I have decided to suck it up and admit that I need a beta. I can't check it on my own because I read what I meant to type rather than what I did type. I am looking for 1 or 2 dedicated people, who are on fairly regularly, to check for mistakes, tell me when it's bad and needs to be rewritten and sort of be a spring board for ideas. I think this will help with my getting frustrated and not writing for days. Anyway, if you're interested email me at FroggyChic84@aol.com That's about it for now.

On with the story . . . 

Chapter 24: The Long Day

Lorelai crept slowly toward Luke's Diner. It was still dark out, but she was sure Luke was already awake and downstairs. As she neared the window, she slid sideways, with her back against the wall. She reached into her purse and pulled a mirror out and used it to look into the window. She watched as Luke finished pulling the chairs off of the tables and went back into the kitchen. This was her opportunity and she seized it. She ran, on her tiptoes, looking like a fool, and hurried in the front door of the diner. She marveled at her own cleverness, in thinking ahead and having Lane put cotton in the bell over the door when she closed the previous night. The only noise was the light squeak of the door and her soft footsteps toward the stairs.

In all reality, Lorelai could have walked in dressed head to toe in lights and bells and Luke wouldn't have noticed. Lane told Lorelai that Luke had been distracted the past few days. Based on the few phone conversations she overheard, she could tell Nicole was making the divorce difficult. Lorelai planned to get all the details on that later, but right now she was having too much fun. She felt like a spy. Realizing that she had succeeded in getting past Luke, she could barely contain her giggles as she hurried up the stairs.

Luke finished setting up the kitchen and came back into the main dining area. As he wiped down tables, he looked out the window, squinting into the darkness. It was nearing the time that he opened and Lorelai should be here any minute. He was still surprised that she would want to get up that early, but for the week that she had worked for him before, she had shown up at opening every morning, eager to get a head start harassing him. He finished and walked over to the window. She should be here by now. As he peered hard out at the streets, a familiar voice startled him.

"Looking for me?"

Luke whipped around and blinked several times in disbelief. Lorelai stood looking at him, wearing jeans and an oversize blue plaid flannel shirt. Topping it off, she wore a grey baseball hat, backwards on her head. When Luke recovered enough to close his mouth, he fixed her with his patented glare.

"What are you doing?" he growled.

"In life?" she asked in a chipper voice.

"Why are you dressed like that?" he corrected. A large smile spread over Lorelai's face. She just couldn't help it. Luke's reaction was priceless.

"I thought I'd wear the company uniform for a day" she said casually. Luke rolled his eyes before peering more closely at her attire.

"Is- Is that mine?" Luke asked, recognizing the worn cap and tattered shirt. Lorelai gave him a withering look.

"Do you really think I own anything like this?"

"Just get to work" he grumbled, stalking off toward the kitchen, leaving Lorelai giggling at the counter.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

A few hours later, the scene was much livelier. Outside, preparations for Emily's fundraiser were bustling along. The town square was a flurry of activity. Taylor yelling through his megaphone. Lane and her band, arguing as they unloaded a van full of stereo equipment. Rory running away, with Kirk hot on her tail. People carrying tables, chairs, and other various things this way and that.

The inside of the diner was equally as busy. All morning, volunteers from outside had come inside to rest and eat, meaning an ever revolving crowd to serve. Caesar was in the kitchen, Luke behind the counter, and Lorelai was dashing between tables. Lorelai's outfit had been hot gossip for the first few hours, but now the daily specials on the chalkboard were replaced by, "She snuck in and stole my clothes. NOTHING HAPPENED." Lorelai returned to the counter after a round of coffee refills and sighed heavily.

"I need a Jack Benny, a bun pup, and a cowboy with a shimmy and a shake" she told Luke.

"Ooh, that last one sounds quite nice. I'll take one, if Luke's the cowboy" Miss Patty piped up from a nearby table. Luke grimaced and hurried into the kitchen, while Lorelai tried to quiet her laughter.

"That's a western omelette with jelly toast, Patty." Miss Patty looked disappointed and went back to the recital plans she was working on. Just then, Rory and Lane burst into the diner. Lorelai looked out and saw Kirk running up to the diner. "Let's go" she said, putting her arms around both of them and ushering them into the kitchen.

"Hey! They can't be back here" Luke hollered.

"Hush you. What is going on?" Lorelai asked. Rory and Lane looked at each other and Lane motioned for Rory to explain.

"Well I was out there working on the decorations," Rory began. "And then Kirk came over and said he felt his role in the fundraiser was not prominent enough of one."

"He just wants to impress Lulu" Lane interjected. Rory nodded and continued.

"So I said he could help me hang the streamers between the light poles." Lorelai nodded. "We got all the way around the square once and he fell off the ladder." Lorelai looked worried, so she added, "He was on the bottom rung, but he didn't let go of the streamer and since it was his brilliant idea to leave it at one long streamer, he pulled it down halfway back around the square." Rory was breathless, getting angry all over again. Lane took over.

"He kept moaning about his injuries. He ran home- "

"To his mommy" Rory pouted.

"But he was still tangled in the streamer, so he ripped it down the rest of the way. When he got back Rory said he couldn't help anymore" Lane finished, looking at Rory sympathetically.

"It didn't stop him from following me around" Rory grumbled. Lorelai looked at her skeptically.

"That's it?" she asked. Rory shook her head.

"He's followed me around, begging, ever since. I've had to redo the streamers twice, he broke three lanterns and even Taylor tried to hit him with the megaphone." Lorelai laughed at the image but hugged Rory.

"Let me see if I can get rid of him" she said. She left the kitchen just in time to see Luke, who had snuck out when they weren't looking, throw a whining Kirk out the door. He turned around and saw her standing there, staring. She cocked a questioning eyebrow at him, but he just shoved the coffee pot at her and mumbled something about getting back to work. "It's safe now" she called through the kitchen window. Rory and Lane peeked out the door. Once they saw that it was indeed safe, they sat at two stools at the counter. Lorelai set the coffee pot down on the counter and walked over to the girls. Luke came back out of the storage room and saw the abandoned pot on the counter and Lorelai at the other end talking with Rory and Lane.

"Lorelai, people want coffee." Lorelai looked at him as if he was a bit slow.

"You work here too," she huffed. "Besides, I am busy with other customers." She gestured toward Rory and Lane. Luke groaned loudly, grabbed the pot and head toward a table, while Lorelai turned back to the girls smiling. "What can I get you?" she asked.

"Just some coffee and fries to go" Rory answered. "We've got to get back out there and fix what Kirk messed up."

"A pair of drawers and sweepings ready to walk" she said. Rory and Lane laughed. Lorelai grabbed paper cups from under the counter and looked around. "Luke's got the coffee so I'll just go get the fries while we wait." She turned to go in the kitchen but Rory stopped her.

"Mom, I thought Luke didn't let you in the kitchen." Lorelai pretended offended.

"Let me? I work here. That means I am an employee and am entitled to go in all the employee areas, whether that is the storage room, the kitchen, or Luke's apartment."

"Luke's apartment?" Lane asked. "He never lets me up there."

"Well today I made it the uniform changing area, so today it counts." She stuck her chin out and walked straight into the kitchen ignoring the girls' protests. They looked at each other with the same amused expression. Luke and Lorelai could always be counted on as a good source of entertainment. A few seconds later, they heard a crash come from the kitchen, followed closely by unintelligible yelling. Luke hurried toward the kitchen, but just as he got to the counter the door swung open. A guilty looking Lorelai came out, being pushed from behind by an angry Caesar.

"I believe this belongs to you" he said, giving her another push toward Luke. Luke looked at her like a parent would a naughty child.

"What did you do?"

"I just went to get their fries" she pouted. "The basket was a little hot, so I dropped it and that's when the yelling started."

"Fry cookers tend to get that way" Luke said sarcastically. "You're behind the counter privileges have been revoked."

"What! That's not fair" she shrieked. "You can't go adding insult to injury."

"What?" Lorelai looked down at her reddening hand. Luke looked at it too and sighed.

"Come on" he said taking on a softer tone.

"Where are we going?"

"To put some ice on it. It doesn't look bad. It'll just sting for a while. Let's go." He took her wrist and began to pull her toward the stairs. Rory and Lane, who had been watching this exchange as if it were a tennis match, smiled at each other.

"Mom, we're going to get back out there. I'll see you later." Lorelai waved quickly before Luke pulled her completely behind the curtain.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Later, when Lorelai's hand felt better, she was back to running around the diner filling orders and bugging Luke. As it neared sunset, the diner quieted. Most of the townspeople were helping with fundraiser preparations. The free time gave Lorelai down time, which she spent watching the activities out the window. Every few minutes she would mumble something to herself, worrying about something going wrong outside. Luke had tried several times to get her to just go out and oversee everything, but, she argued, she had said she would work for Lane and that was what she was going to do. Luke knew she was nothing if not brutally stubborn. Luke had just gotten her to come away from the window and help him wipe down tables, when Taylor rushed in.

"Lorelai, we have a problem" he said loudly.

"What's wrong, Taylor?"

"They sent me over to talk to you. I mean, I am just trying to do my job and organize the parking and that neanderthal, Bootsy, won't move his magazine stand out of the street. Also, Andrew is having problems with the stage, Miss Patty and Lane are arguing over costumes, and Kirk has almost electrocuted himself a few times. But, Bootsy is the main issue." Luke rolled his eyes at Taylor. 

"Go on" he said to Lorelai.

"No, I can't. I'm working."

"No, you're not. We're closed." He looked at her with what he hoped was a blank expression, but Lorelai got the meaning.

"Well at least let me stay and help you close up."

"I'm coming with you. I'll see what I can do about the stage" he said, turning off the lights. Lorelai looked at him in awe. 

"Really?" He had never seen her look more shocked and grateful at the same time. It scared him.

"Yeah well, if I don't you'll just come in here and drag me out, so the sooner I look at it the sooner I can go to bed." Lorelai frowned. She knew he didn't really mean it, but that was Luke, ruining a perfectly sweet moment. He saw her frown and as they walked out the door whispered, "I wouldn't mind seeing Kirk electrocute himself either." Lorelai laughed and they walked toward the center of town.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

An hour later, Lorelai had convinced Kirk to unplug the lights while he changed the bulbs and fuses. She had convinced Miss Patty that the fundraiser was not the right event for her to resurrect her old burlesque costumes. She had made Bootsy agree to move his stand five feet back onto the sidewalk and made Taylor promise to quit trying to pass his street vendor ordinance. Now she was on her way over to Luke, who was working on the stage. He was bent down on all fours looking at something underneath the stage. Lorelai remembered a conversation her and Sookie had once before, pertaining to Luke's back end. Sookie, through a series of mishaps that could only happen to Sookie, had touched Luke's butt and her and Lorelai had proceeded to discuss it in front of him. Sookie was right. It did have a nice shape to it. Lorelai smirked to herself.

"How's it looking?" she asked, when she felt she had stared long enough. Luke jumped, causing Lorelai to giggle.

"I can fix it, but it's gonna take about a half an hour." Lorelai clapped her hands together.

"Thank you, Luke. I'm sorry you have to do this too. You did a beautiful job on the dance floor." She smiled and Luke looked away shyly. Lorelai looked around. The sun had set and only a few people were left, working in the twilight. "I'll help everyone finish up for the night, while you do that." Luke nodded and Lorelai walked away.

When she was satisfied that everything that could be done was, she headed over to Luke. It was completely dark by now, so she only spotted him when she saw the beam of his flashlight moving around.

"I'm almost done" he said, having heard her approach. Soon he heard pounding on the boards overhead. "What are you doing?" he yelled, driving in the last nail. He crawled out from under the stage and looked up to see Lorelai trying to tap dance on the stage. "What are you doing?" he asked again.

"Testing it out" she said simply. He shook his head at her.

"When you're through, come inside. I have something for you." He turned and walked back toward the diner.

"Ooh! A present? I'll come now" she yelped, leaping off the stage. She ran to catch up with him. She grabbed his arm and dragged him back to the diner and up the stairs to his apartment. Once inside, she ran and jumped onto the couch chanting, "Hurry, Hurry, Hurry, Hurry." Luke took his time putting away his toolbox and digging through some things.

"It's just something Jess left behind. I don't really want it."

"I get a hand-me-down present? Bah!" Lorelai sulked.

"Here." Luke tossed a box at her. Lorelai looked at it. It was a video.

"Ever After" she read out loud. "We have this already." She turned it over. "Or we had it already. This is ours."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, see the little hearts." Luke looked at them and raised his eyebrows.

"I don't want to know" he said.

"Rory and I have a girl crush on Drew Barrymore."

"I said I didn't want to know." Luke finished putting everything away and came around to sit on the couch. Lorelai didn't seem like she was leaving right away, so he might as well join her.

"Rory must've brought this over once to watch with Jess. She loves this movie." The way that Lorelai was staring at the cover, Luke guessed Rory wasn't the only one.

"Never seen it" he said shrugging his shoulders. Lorelai looked at him as if he had just told her his dog died.

"That's terrible" she said, patting his shoulder.

"Put it in"

"What?"

"We can watch it now. Put it in." He bent down to untie his boots, hoping she wouldn't make a big deal.

"You want to watch a girly movie with me?" Apparently, she was going to.

"Lorelai" he warned.

"You do know that there is a handsome prince and lots of smooching in the movie. I mean nothing gets blown up. There's not even nudity."

"Put it in right now, or I take it back." Lorelai jumped up quickly and put the movie in. She ran to turn off the lights as Luke started it up.

They both sat near the middle of the couch to begin with. They weren't huddled together, but their bodies were touching and there was empty space on both ends of the couch. A little while into the movie, Lorelai scooted as far over to her end as she could. Luke was confused and more than a little disappointed, but quickly, she put a pillow where she had been sitting before and laid down. Now she was laying on her back with her legs over the arm of the couch. Her head was on the pillow turned toward the tv.

Lorelai had seen the movie lots of times, so a little later she decided to have a little fun. She stretched and moved her arm up to lie on the pillow over her head. Her lower arm rested against Luke's leg and her hand against his knee. She felt Luke tense and had to bite her lip to keep from giggling. After Luke had finally relaxed, she slowly worked her hand behind his knee and teased the fabric of his jeans. She expected him to squirm, but he didn't move a muscle. He was completely stiff.

Through all of this, Luke's was screaming inside. He didn't know what to do. He'd always wanted Lorelai to be close to him like this, but the closeness was setting his skin on fire. He was sure she could hear his ragged breath and he felt as if he was shaking from trying so hard to hold still. After she initially moved her arm, he'd tensed but when he saw she was still watching the movie, he thought it was just an accident and relaxed a little. When she'd started tickling the back of his knee, it was all he could do, not to jump up. These sorts of things didn't happen to Luke. Besides wondering what in the hell was going on in her head, he had to think about what was going on with himself. He wished he had a pause button, so that he could stop the assaults on his senses and stop the dizzying effect. Fortunately, the movie took a turn and Lorelai stopped her torment, getting engrossed in the film again.

By the end of the movie, Lorelai was the one sitting up and Luke was lying down next to her. She was afraid that her little game was too much for him because he had made sure not to touch her for the rest of the movie. He hadn't even moved really. She was just about to apologize when she noticed he was asleep again. This was becoming a very unattractive habit. She tiptoed around the apartment, looking for her latest weapon. She returned quickly with toothpaste from the bathroom. As she was passing the couch to get into position, an arm snaked around her thigh. Lorelai stopped dead in her tracks.

"What do you think you are doing?" Luke said with his eyes still closed.

"Who me?" Lorelai asked innocently. Luke finally opened his eyes. He rolled over onto his back but he kept his arm around her leg.

"Hand it over" he said holding out his free hand.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hand over whatever you were going to use to torture me." Lorelai glared and him and reluctantly handed the tube over. Luke chuckled at her as she stomped over to collect her things. He walked her to the door. "Thanks for helping out in the diner" he said.

"Thanks for fixing the stage" she returned.

"Thanks for watching the movie with me" he said, challengingly.

"Thanks for the idea."

"Thanks for using your movie for the idea." Lorelai arched an eyebrow at him.

"That was a lame one" she said.

"I still won" he gloated, leaning on the doorway. Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"I better get back. I've got to get up early and finish setting up. You're coming tomorrow right?"

"Do I have to dress up?" Too tired to argue, Lorelai gave him her meanest glare. Luke laughed. "Yeah, I'll be there." She smiled and leaned against the same doorway, inches from Luke.

"Good. Goodnight, Luke"

"Goodnight." They shared one last look and Lorelai turned to leave. Luke was smiling as he shut the door. They had shared many looks like that before and they had always resulted in Lorelai leaving, but this one seemed different. She didn't get the same look of fear on her face and run away. She had just smiled back at him and looked almost reluctant to leave. 

For the first time since these little situations with Luke had been occurring, Lorelai slept well. He was still in her head all night, but this time instead of laying awake, tossing it around in her head, she dreamed of it. The dreams were strange. Disconnected images, sounds, smells. She dreamed of the smell of him in his clothing. She dreamed of his soft touch when he was gingerly rinsing her hand in cold water. The sound of his voice soothing her when she had complained about her hand stinging. The heat of his body against hers on the couch. The feel of his fingers on her inner thigh. Mostly she dreamed of his face. The same warm smile he had given her once at the sink when he was holding her hand in his and again at the door when they were saying goodnight. And this time, when she woke up, she wasn't panicked and seeking an analysis. This time when she woke up, she was content and didn't feel like questioning it. 


	25. The Fundraiser

Author's Note: Hey Guys! Sorry it has been soooo long. I promised I wouldn't give up. I finally got a full-time job and it has been crazy. I finally settled into a routine, though, so I can take up the writing again. You can attribute the last few chapters to my anger with ASP. I had my story ending planned out since about the 5th chapter, so you can tell how long ago that has been. I just read the spoilers for the rest of the season last night, and I COULD'VE WRITTEN IT. It's very VERY similar. It's not that I thought my idea was unique, but I would've thought hers would be more unexpected. Anyway, I really do love ASP, but I am rushing out the rest of this story for two reasons. One, I want to finish this without being influenced by the way she plays it out, and two, I want to start on a sequel, so that I will have a lot more room to play around with things. Anyway, thanks to those who never gave up and sorry again for the long wait. Love you all.

On with the story. . .

Chapter 25: The Fund-raiser

Just before sunset on Saturday evening, a dark blue town car pulled up to the ****Stars Hollow ****town square. Out stepped an elegant woman in a deep maroon gown. It was a conservative dress, floor-length and smooth. Embroidered flowers just a shade lighter than the rest of the dress adorned the cuffs of the long sleeves. She'd had her auburn hair done especially for the occasion, but it looked no different from usual.

Emily stood appraising the scene before her. She had to admit Lorelai had done a wonderful job. Directly in front of her was a large, wooden dance floor. It had obviously been built recently, but the sprinkling of rose petals masked its imperfections. It was lit by tall, ****wrought iron ****stands, topped with white candles surrounded by pink lilies.

Behind the dance floor stood a modest stage, built low to the ground, with only a black curtain in the back and a single microphone in the center. A spotlight roamed the stage, which Emily saw to be manned by a quirky man she vaguely remembered.

To the left of the dance floor was the dining area, holding about 20 tables. Each was covered in cream colored, satin table clothes with a light sprinkling of iridescent glitter. Bouquets of red roses, pink lilies and purple irises colored the centers of half the tables, while floating candles in crystal bowls of lavender water decorated the rest. She noticed that about a quarter of the chairs were already filled with members of the D.A.R. and their guests.

To her right stood the town's gazebo. She had always thought it was an elegant structure on its own, but tonight it brought ****new meaning ****to the word. Vines were woven ****throughout ****the lattice roof and dangled down the sides. The same flowers that adorned the ****tables ****blanketed the roof and hung from the vines. Small twinkle lights peeked out from behind petals, like magical fairies playing with each other. Under the roof she saw the furniture and antiques ****that ****had been donated for the silent auction. She watched as a group entered to look, but made their bids quickly when they realized they were being watched by a stern looking Korean woman.

The rest of the square was decorated in ****ribbons, streamers, and flowers. Everywhere she looked, Emily saw purple, pink, and red. ****Strands of lights were draped everywhere casting a gentle glow over the area.

Beyond that, slightly away from the display, was a tiny enclosure, in which a group of children was terrorizing three older girls. Emily immediately recognized one of them to be Rory, but the other two she couldn't place from a distance. One was small and cowering in a corner and the other stood rigid and kept pointing her finger.

Behind her, all the shops were dark, except the diner. Inside, Emily could see Lorelai's friend Sookie running around amongst a batch of confused looking waiters. She heard the voice of the overbearing man she had met a few times before. He was directing valets, who looked more like scared teenage boys.

In all of the activity, Emily still had yet to see Lorelai. She walked to where a woman was checking invitations. The squat blond smiled up at her.

"Invitation, doll?" she asked.

"I don't have an invitation. I'm the one hosting this event." Emily looked patronizingly at the woman, who just continued to smile.

"Oh, Emily. I didn't recognize you all gussied up like that." Emily smiled at her thinly.

"Do you know where I might find my daughter?" she asked.

"She's right there, sugar." Emily looked where the woman was pointing. There stood a ****tall ****woman in a dark blue gown. It was made out of a thin material with sparkles embedded that glinted in the candlelight. ****The dress had thin straps and open, plunging back. The gown was floor-length with a slight train trailing behind.**** The woman's raven hair was pulled back in a loose bun and small curls decorated her nape and surrounded her face. Next to her was a broad-shouldered man in a dark suit. His back was to her, but she could just make out the outline of the curls at the end of his short dark hair. Emily didn't remember Lorelai mentioning dating anyone, but she was standing very close to the man and his hand was resting gently on her lower back. Emily headed toward them.

As Emily neared, the man leaned down and whispered something in Lorelai's ear. She laughed and as she turned her head to look at him, she caught a glimpse of Emily out of the corner of her eye. Emily expected Lorelai's usual reaction when she was caught with someone or something she had been keeping a secret from her mother. But Lorelai looked neither embarrassed nor guilty. Emily didn't even see the usual dread behind Lorelai's sparkling eyes. All she could read on Lorelai's features was happiness.

"Hi, Mom," Lorelai said, smiling. "You look great."

"You look lovely also," Emily replied, biting back a comment about the thinness of Lorelai's dress; she didn't want to be the one to start anything tonight. "The square looks wonderful. I'm sure all of the girls are pleased." Lorelai smirked, knowing that it was a big compliment coming from Emily.

"Where's dad tonight?" Lorelai asked, looking around. Emily sighed.

"He's at some conference in New York. With Jason gone there was no one that could fill in" Emily said with disdain. She took a deep breath and put on a smile. "I'm a single woman tonight." Her eyes roamed over to the man next to Lorelai, who up until this time had kept his back to them. Lorelai grabbed his arm lightly and turned him around.

"Mom, you remember Luke." Emily had to do a double take before she could believe that this handsome, clean-cut man and the flannel clad diner man she had met before were the same person. Emily looked him up and down appraisingly and smiled. Luke looked nervous, but Lorelai just rolled her eyes. "Have you seen the antiques in the gazebo?" she asked. Emily looked at Luke a moment longer before turning to Lorelai.

"Yes. Mrs. Kim has done a wonderful job. I'd like to go see what the bidding is up to." Lorelai nodded, but Emily didn't move. She stared at Lorelai expectantly and cleared her throat.

"Oh!" Lorelai jumped when it finally hit her. She looked up at Luke and he nodded. She followed Emily away. They hadn't made it but a few steps before she asked the question Lorelai knew was coming.

"Are you seeing that man?"

"When he isn't wearing his invisibility cloak," Lorelai answered, but Emily just looked at her, exasperated. "No, Mom. I'm not seeing him." Emily looked at her skeptically.

"You two looked quite cozy." Lorelai looked away. She didn't like discussing her love life with Emily to begin with, but this time she wanted to avoid it even more. She had felt very comfortable being affectionate with Luke. She didn't want anything to freak her out, to turn this into a bad thing. An inquisition from Emily spelled big trouble.**** ****

****"We're just friends," she said, not even believing it herself anymore. Emily opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Jackson's voice.

"If everyone could please take their seats, we'll begin." Lorelai and Emily exchanged a glance then walked toward their seats, both knowing that the conversation was far from over. "Stars Hollow would like to extend a warm welcome to the Hartford DAR . . ."

As Jackson continued, Emily took her seat at a table in the front with other ladies of the DAR Lorelai sat next to Luke, at the table she'd assigned them. As Lorelai sat down Luke noticed she didn't look very happy. He gave her a quizzical look. She looked at her mother and just shook her head. He nodded, knowing how difficult Emily could be. Lorelai was glad that Luke understood without her saying anything. It used to be only Rory that had that ability. They both settled in to watch the show.

Lane's band performed first. They played a slow Sinatra song and Lorelai was amazed at how good Brian sounded when he wasn't wheezing. The band had come a long way. Lorelai was glad Mrs. Kim was there to see it. In fact, Lorelai had even seen Mrs. Kim swaying gently to the song. It was the slightest of movements, and went unnoticed by most, but Lorelai saw it and wished Lane could've too.

Next, Miss Patty crooned "Moon River." Even Luke had to admit it was a good performance. Lorelai had convinced her to dress conservatively and her husky voice really did the song justice. Lorelai leaned over and whispered something in his ear about the song making her think of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Luke had seen it many times before. It was his mother's favorite and knowing Lorelai liked it too made the hair on his arm stand up.

Miss Patty's little ballerinas rounded off the performance part of the evening. They weren't the most talented group the town had seen, but they were adorable enough to make up for it. Also, this bunch kept all their clothing on through the entire dance, so it was deemed a success.

Every so often, Emily would sneak a peek over at Luke and Lorelai. She had seen them exchange a look when Lorelai had first sat down and Emily had been intrigued ever since. To any passerby, they looked like a couple. During the band's performance, Lorelai leaned forward in her chair, listening intently. Luke, meanwhile, leaned back in his chair with his arm around the back of Lorelai's chair. When he thought no one was looking, he watched Lorelai instead of the stage. Emily recognized that look. Richard looked at her that way when they were younger. When Miss Patty took the stage, Lorelai leaned back, but Luke kept his arm there. They both stared in the general direction of the stage with content looks on their faces. Finally, when the ballerinas took the stage, Lorelai sat up again. This time she turned to smack Luke on the arm excitedly every time the girls did something cute. Luke regarded her with part annoyance and part amusement. By this time, Emily was fairly sure, she'd gotten her answer.

After the performances were over, dinner was served. Emily only half listened to the conversation at her table, keeping a watchful eye in Lorelai's direction. She planned to talk to her the first chance she got, but when it came to food, especially Sookie's food, Lorelai took it seriously. As each dish was served, Lorelai would take a bite and make a face. Even from her seat four tables away, Emily could see Luke's face redden. He glared at Lorelai, but she would only laugh. When dessert was served, Lorelai took a huge fork full, opened her mouth wide, and shoved it all in.

"Real attractive" Luke said, looking at her. Lorelai smiled, closed her eyes and let out a loud, pleasurable sigh. Luke turned bright red again and glared at her.

"Don't you think the first three times were enough?" he growled.

"No," Lorelai said simply and giggled at the look she received back.

Soon dinner was over and the winners of the silent auction were announced. Everyone clapped politely after each name was read, and Mrs. Kim stood on the stage until she had received a check from each and every winner.

After Mrs. Kim left the stage, Morry and the Troubadour quickly set up. They started playing and it wasn't long before the dance floor was half full. Luke and Lorelai were the only ones left at their table. Luke sat with his arms crossed, looking everywhere but at Lorelai. She batted her eyes at him and stuck out her bottom lip. When that didn't work, she made little whimpering noises. When he still didn't budge, she began to whine loudly and he finally relented out of sheer embarrassment.****

By the time they took their place on the floor, Luke's arm was around Lorelai's waist. Almost immediately they fell into natural rhythm and their bodies moved together as if they had been made specifically for this purpose. Luke held Lorelai so close that his arm circled around her back and almost rested on her opposite hip. Their swaying reminded Lorelai of riding the waves of the ocean. It had less to do with the beat of the music, than with some natural pull that she had no control over. They moved as one without any effort. One of Lorelai's hands traced gently across Luke's back and the other was in Luke's palm against his chest. As calm as they appeared on the outside, their minds were racing inside. Neither looked at each other, afraid that their faces would betray their emotions. Lorelai hadn't forgotten about her mother's presence, but with Luke holding her this way she felt like it didn't matter. She realized that without her even knowing, Luke had always supported her just the way he was now. He created a protective shell just the way he was now, cradling her in his arms. That was the exact moment that she realized, not even Emily Gilmore could scare her out of her feelings for Luke. He was a constant, an always. She couldn't remember what it was like before him and couldn't picture being without him again. As she looked over his shoulder, she smiled to herself.

Luke was also having some realizations. He had been in love with Lorelai Gilmore for a long time without ever admitting it to himself. He had never let himself have those feelings. As painful as "not loving" her was, loving her could only be twenty times worse. Lately, though, he had slowly been losing his grip on his feelings. Right now he was barely hanging on by a thread. He was holding her so close he couldn't distinguish her racing heart from his own. He wasn't sure he could ever let go. He realized that no matter what it took, he _wouldn't _ever let go.

Now both relaxed further into each other. Lorelai rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Luke leaned his chin against the curve of her neck and breathed her in deeply. Both smiled almost simultaneously and felt the other's smile against their skin. They pulled their heads back so slowly that time seemed to stand still. Lorelai could feel Luke's breath travel from down her back, over her shoulder, to hitting her collar bone. They looked deep into each other's eyes for only a second. It seemed to last forever and the thoughts racing through their heads vanished. Neither knew anything but the other's face. The world disappeared from around them. Gone were the people, the music, the lights, and the voices. Luke had never believed all the junk people spouted about love and romantic moments. This moment changed that forever. Their faces moved back together even slower than they had come apart. Neither closed their eyes, afraid it was a dream. They were so close that Luke could smell Lorelai's lip gloss, when a throat being cleared brought the world back so fast, Lorelai felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her.

"What are you doing here?"


	26. Chaos

Author's Note: Hey all! See, I'm trying to write faster? Anyway, this is the second to last chapter. It's kind of short because it didn't fit with the previous or next chapters. The season finale tonight will probably delay the last chapter for a day or two, because lets face it, I have no life and will be replaying it over and over. If they don't kiss tonight, a tv may end up out the window so cross your fingers. Thanks to my betas and all the reviewers. You keep me going, even when I feel guilty about disappearing for awhile.

On with the story....

Chapter 26: Chaos

For Luke, the next few moments happened in slow motion. He heard the cough, and then he heard Lorelai's voice, but he still wasn't prepared for what he saw when he turned around. He felt as if his heart dropped out through his shoes. Behind him stood a dark haired man in a suit. He was short and Luke could've easily taken him down in one swing, but the man had a smug look on his face anyway. Luke knew there was only one person this could be.

"Jason?" he heard Lorelai say. She sounded as if she couldn't catch her breath. Luke kept one arm around Lorelai protectively.

"I need to talk to you," Jason said, looking dismissively at Luke. Luke scowled and waited for Lorelai's reply. But she only looked back and forth between Jason and Luke, dumbly. If it was possible, the man's expression got ever more smug. Luke quietly excused himself.

Lorelai wanted to tell him not to go. She wanted to smack Jason for looking at Luke that way. She wanted to run after Luke and apologize. She just wanted to go back to a few minutes ago, when everything was perfect. When it was she and Luke and no one else. But she didn't do anything. She didn't move. She didn't speak. She just watched the scene like it was a movie. Jason took her silence as his cue to continue.

"Lorelai, I'm so sorry about what happened. What happened was terrible. What I did was terrible. You have to understand why I did it. I grew up in my father's shadow. Business was the most important thing in my family. It's the only way I knew. I know now it was wrong, but you have to understand that at the time, I didn't see anything wrong with it." He stopped, to catch his breath. A begging look on his face. His desperate pleading had drawn attention to the pair so no one noticed when Luke slipped into the darkness. He headed away from the lights, the noise, and away from the ruined moment. Lorelai was still too shell shocked to find words. Jason filled the silence for her.

"Lorelai, this last month has been awful. I realize the mistakes I made. I'm doing everything I can to fix it. I've quit working for my father. I started seeing a therapist again. You have to believe me. I shouldn't have lied, but I didn't expect to fall in love with you."

Before he could continue, an audible gasp caused Lorelai to turn. Behind her, Emily wore an equally shocked look on her face. Lorelai wanted to scream, to cry, to runaway. Ten minutes ago, she had never been happier. Now Luke was gone, Jason was back, and her mother knew about it all. In her mind things couldn't get worse. She couldn't move, couldn't think. She couldn't process anything. The next conscious thought she had was that three people were calling her name.

"Lorelai!"

She headed toward the one that sounded the safest. Emily and Jason called after her as she dashed across the square and climbed into a rusty, green truck that had just pulled up.

Luke wasn't sure why he had come back. He only felt the need to rescue her once again. He wasn't even sure if she needed or wanted rescuing, but if she did, he would be there. When he had driven up, the scene looked worse than when he had left. Jason was beseeching Lorelai. He was motioning desperately at her. Emily looked as if she couldn't decide between shock or rage, but wanted Lorelai to know both. The other partygoers merely looked confused. In the middle of it all, Lorelai stood, unmoving. She had the same look on her face as when he had left. Luke wasn't going to go back into that lion's den, so he tried to get her out instead. He was surprised when she turned and ran to him, the first time he called. She climbed into the truck and looked right into his eyes. She still looked dumbstruck but he noticed a little gratefulness in there too. He knew it was probably the opposite of what two, mature adults should do, but he hit the gas and drove her away from the chaos. He hit the edge of town and kept right on going.

Lorelai stared out into the darkness. The cab of the truck had been completely silent save for the rumbling of the engine. Her mind wasn't actually racing anymore. Now it was completely blank. Inside this small space with Luke she felt like nothing could harm her. His presence was like an invisible force protecting her. She didn't let any thoughts from the previous scene invade the safety of the truck. She didn't know where they were going. She didn't really care either. She knew Luke had a plan. He always had a plan. He fixed everything. He made things better. He was doing it again. She didn't bother questioning him. She only reveled in the momentary relief from the world outside.

Luke drove through the silence. He knew Lorelai's moods well enough to know that now wasn't a time for talking. Every few minutes he looked over at her, sitting silently, staring out the window. He hoped she was okay. He actually did have a plan. He wasn't even sure where it had come from. He only knew that it was what he should do. He was anticipating what she would do without even thinking about it.

Two hours into the drive, he pulled into a 24-hour gas station. He was glad he had just filled up this afternoon, or they wouldn't have made it this far. Before he got back in, he grabbed two folded blankets from the back of his truck. He got in and though Lorelai had yet to speak, she did turn to look at him. He put one blanket, still folded, on the center of the bench seat and motioned for her to lie down. She did, using the blanket as a pillow. He laid the other blanket over her, and started the engine. So far, so good.

Exhausted as she was, it didn't take long for Lorelai to slip off into dreamland. She didn't even stir when Luke rumbled up the unpaved path and parked his truck. When he came around to her side of the truck and lifted her out, she only snuggled into the crook of his neck. He carried her inside, only tripped up for a few minutes maneuvering to unlock and open the door, and laid her down on a large bed. He took off her heels and folded the quilt over her. He shut the door and prepared a bed on a nearby couch as quietly as he could. It was the beginning of spring but the nights could get chilly, so he built a small fire in the fire place. He laid down on the couch and fell asleep watching the light from the flames dance over her face.


End file.
